One lawmaker said that Starovoit’s death may have occurred before he was sacked by the president.
The Kremlin published a decree earlier Monday saying that Putin had fired Starovoit, without giving an official reason for his dismissal — but airports across Russia have faced multiple delays, cancellations and stranded passengers over the weekend due to Ukrainian drone attacks.
On Sunday, an explosion aboard the Eco Wizard tanker at a port in the Leningrad region triggered an ammonia leak, adding to the crisis engulfing Russia’s transportation sector.
Starovoit was appointed as Russia’s transport minister in May 2024. Before his time as minister, he spent almost five years as acting governor and head of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
This story has been updated.