A Russian two-star general serving as deputy operations chief of the general staff has been killed by a car bomb, officials have confirmed.
The incident that claimed the life of Lt.Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik occurred on Friday morning in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has said the improvised explosive device planted inside the car was packed with metal fragments for additional lethality.
The news agency TASS has reported that investigators estimated the yield of the device as the equivalent of 300 grams of TNT.
The aftermath of the attack was filmed by witnesses. The footage suggests that the vehicle used in the attack, which was parked next to other cars inside a residential area next to a high-rise apartment block, was burned out following the explosion.
Last December, a bombing attack that Russian investigators blamed on Ukrainian special services killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who served as the commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces (RChBZ). He was assassinated alongside an aide as they were coming out of a building in Moscow.
The operation reportedly involved an explosive device hidden inside an electric scooter, which was placed next to the entrance and monitored through a camera set up in a parked car, which allowed the perpetrators to time the remote detonation.
Kremlin Fury
The killing of a senior Russian general in a car bomb has again demonstrated the true nature of the Kiev regime, which has long engaged in “terrorist activities” in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy operations chief of the Russian General Staff, was killed by a car bomb outside his residence in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha early on Friday. Commenting on the incident, Peskov called upon the public to “stay alert,” suggesting Ukraine was likely behind the assassination.
“The Kiev regime once again shows its essence,” Peskov told journalist Pavel Zarubin, adding that it “continues to engage in terrorist activities” on Russian soil. The incident serves as a reminder that “despite the peace talks, we must stay alert,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin.
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova offered a similar comment, stating should Ukrainian involvement in the assassination be confirmed, it would demonstrate the “barbarian and treacherous nature of the Kiev regime.” Ukraine is betting on escalating the conflict and “irresponsibly ignoring constructive proposals” to settle it through diplomacy, she noted.
“There is a reason to believe that the Ukrainian special services were involved in the murder, especially given that Moskalik was known to them from the time of his work in the Minsk Contact Group and the ‘Normandy [four] format’ for the settlement of the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine,” Zakharova added.
