Terrorist attack in Moscow: General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed

Russian Lieutenant General Jaroslav Moskalik was killed in car explosion in the suburbs of Moscow, and at the time of the explosion he was passing by a car, the Russian authorities announced.

It is the second killing of a high-ranking Russian military official near their residences in the last four months.

Criminal proceedings have been opened for the murder of Moskalik, who died on April 25 when he approached the vehicle in which the bomb was detonated by remote control.

"According to preliminary information, the explosion killed Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," it was announced.

Photo: AP Photo

"According to the available data, the explosion was the result of the detonation of a hand-made explosive device filled with shrapnel," it was stated.

Security cameras captured the moment of the explosion, and initial reports suggest the device detonated as Moskalik approached or entered the vehicle.

Moskalik was a prominent figure in the Russian military command.

He played a key role in the Normandy format negotiations on Ukraine in 2015 and 2019, and was part of the Russian delegation during the negotiations with then Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2018.

His potential involvement in the current war in Ukraine has not been publicly confirmed.

Photo: Ostorzhno novosti via AP

This is the second high-profile assassination of a Russian general in recent months.

In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed by a bomb planted on a scooter in Moscow, and Ukrainian intelligence services then claimed responsibility for the attack.

"In the Russian government and military infrastructure, he was respected and considered a general with a strong analytical mind," says BBC Russia journalist Olga Ivshina.

He is the tenth Russian general killed since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia lost generals on the battlefield, close to the fighting, but Ukraine changed tactics to get them inside Russia," says Ivshina.

He added that it is a "quickly developing scenario and investigations have begun."