Mike Baker

Welcome back to the PDB.

Another senior Russian military official is dead after a car bomb exploded outside Moscow, the latest in a string of attacks exposing the Kremlin's inability to insulate the men overseeing its war machine.

Now, the Kremlin isn't exactly known for transparency when something embarrassing happens close to home, but based on reporting from two Russian and two Ukrainian sources, here's what appears to have happened.

Around 5.30 Tuesday morning in the city of Belashika, just east of Moscow, a BMW SUV exploded after the driver pulled out of a parking space near a residential building.

Bystanders reportedly got to the driver while he was still alive, but he died shortly after at the scene.

As far as any official confirmation goes, the Russian Federal Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office for the Moscow region confirmed an explosion and opened a criminal investigation, but did not name the driver.

So you may be wondering who exactly was inside that vehicle and why this incident is drawing so much attention.

Well, those Russian and Ukrainian sources identify the victim as Damir Davidov, a senior figure within Russia's Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, better known as GRAU, which sounds like an evil organization from the Man From U.N.C.L.E.,

Now, Davidov headed a directorate within one of the organizations responsible for overseeing much of Russia's missile, rocket, artillery, and munitions infrastructure.

In other words, we're talking about a man connected to the machinery helping sustain Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Additional reports from Russian telegram channels indicating an improvised explosive device had been planted beneath a vehicle likely containing one pound or so of TNT.

It's worth taking a closer look at who Davidov was.

What's known about him is that he spent decades inside Russia's military establishment.

Public records show he was serving as commander of the Central Test Technical Bureau, attached to the 51st Arsenal of Grau, as far back as 2009, holding the rank of colonel.

A decade later, he appears in official Russian records again, this time as the head of a Grau directorate and a member of a defense ministry delegation visiting Kazakhstan.

These details tell us that Davidov was part of the institutional backbone of Russia's military apparatus, helping oversee organizations tied to the weapons systems that have played a central role, of course, throughout the war.

And that helps answer the obvious question.

Why would someone target him?

If Ukrainian intelligence was behind the bombing, the logic isn't particularly complicated.

We've seen Kiev in recent months show a growing willingness to impose costs on the Kremlin by going after more than tanks or aircraft or ammunition depots.