Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit died by suicide on Monday, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin fired him from the job, officials said. Starovoit was dismissed by Putin on Monday morning.

The Kremlin did not give a reason for the firing of Roman Starovoit, who served as transport minister since May 2024, and it was unclear when exactly he died.

Roman Starovoit, Russia’s recently ousted transport minister, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car in a Moscow suburb on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin abruptly dismissed him. Russian authorities have launched an investigation, with suicide cited as the leading theory.