By Pavel Kazachkov
Russian general was killed by a car bomb on friday, as reported by Russia’s leading criminal investigation agency, marking the second such incident involving a senior Russian military officer within four months. The Investigative Committee confirmed that Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, who served as the deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was fatally injured by an explosive device that had been placed in his vehicle in Balashikha, located just outside Moscow.
According to the committee’s spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, the explosive was equipped with shrapnel, and investigators were present at the site. Russian media broadcast footage of a vehicle engulfed in flames in the courtyard of an apartment complex. The committee did not disclose any potential suspects. This attack follows the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who was killed on December 17 when a bomb concealed on an electric scooter, parked near his apartment, detonated as he was leaving for work. Russian officials attributed Kirillov’s death to Ukraine, which acknowledged its involvement in that incident.
Kirillov held the position of chief of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, a specialized unit responsible for safeguarding the military against nuclear, chemical, or biological threats and ensuring operational capabilities in contaminated environments. His assistant also perished in the attack.
The bombing on Friday coincided with the anticipated meeting of US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-mediated peace initiative for Ukraine, marking their fourth meeting since February.
