Russian General Killed In Car Bombing Near Moscow, Second Attack In Four Months
Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bombing near Moscow, marking the second assassination of a top military officer in four months. Investigation is underway.
A high-ranking Russian military officer was killed in a car bombing on Friday, marking the second assassination of a top general in recent months, Russia’s main criminal investigation agency reported.
Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, died when an explosive device detonated in his vehicle in Balashikha, a suburb just east of Moscow.
"The Investigative Committee said that Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow." According to committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, the bomb had been laced with shrapnel, increasing its lethality. "She said that investigators were at the scene." Russian media outlets aired footage of a vehicle engulfed in flames in the courtyard of a residential apartment complex.
No suspects were named in the statement, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear. "The committee did not mention possible suspects." This latest bombing comes on the heels of another targeted killing: Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, was killed on December 17. The bomb that took his life had been concealed in an electric scooter parked outside his residence and detonated as he departed for work.
"The attack follows the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who died on Dec. 17 when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office."
BREAKING 🔶🔶
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) April 25, 2025
Major General Yaroslav Moskalik, Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, has been eliminated today in a car explosion in the Moscow region.
Rescue teams report he died from an explosive device planted in the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/wzGVOcs09K
The Russian government accused Ukraine of orchestrating Kirillov’s assassination. "The Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov, and Ukraine’s security agency acknowledged that it was behind that attack."
Kirillov’s role placed him in charge of forces dedicated to defending the military from nuclear, biological, and chemical threats. His assistant was also killed in the explosion.
"Kirillov was the chief of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, the special troops tasked with protecting the military from the enemy’s use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment. Kirillov’s assistant also died in the attack."
Friday’s attack coincided with a significant diplomatic development. "Friday’s bombing came just as U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a U.S.-brokered peace plan for Ukraine. The meeting is their fourth encounter since February." Authorities have not publicly linked the bombing to the scheduled U.S.-Russia talks. However, the timing is likely to raise new concerns over escalating tensions and security lapses within Russia’s senior military leadership.
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