Russian General Killed in Car Bomb Attack Near Moscow
A senior Russian military official was killed on Friday in a car bombing outside Moscow, marking the second deadly attack on a high-ranking officer in recent months.
Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, died in the explosion. The device was reportedly planted in his vehicle, a Volkswagen Golf, and detonated in the town of Balashikha, located just east of the Russian capital.
According to the committee’s spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, the explosive was rigged with shrapnel and is believed to have been a homemade device. Investigators, including forensic experts and law enforcement, have launched a criminal probe and were examining the site as of Friday.
Footage broadcast by Russian media showed a car engulfed in flames within the courtyard of a residential building. No suspects have been officially identified, and the motive remains unclear.
This incident follows a similar attack in December, when Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter outside his apartment. Russian authorities accused Ukrainian intelligence of orchestrating that bombing, an allegation Ukraine later acknowledged.
General Moskalik’s death coincided with the arrival of US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow for peace discussions related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to meet with Witkoff later that day, according to official reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking to CBS News a day prior, stated that Moscow remained open to negotiating a resolution to the war in Ukraine but emphasized that further discussions were needed on specific terms.
The attack in Balashikha also comes amid heightened domestic security concerns. Earlier this week, a separate explosion triggered a fire in an underground parking garage in Moscow’s business district, although authorities have not publicly linked the two events.
CNN, the Associated Press, and Reuters. contributed to this report.
