New details emerge of Russian general killed in car bombing near Moscow

The senior Russian general killed in a car bombing in Moscow on April 25 prepared reports for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in Ukraine, according to an obituary from the Russian Defense Ministry on April 29.

Yaroslav Moskalik was a deputy chief of the main operations directorate of Russia's army and reportedly led the combat duty shift overseeing battlefield developments from the Russian General Staff, the obituary, published in the Russian state newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, reported.

He was killed in an explosion in the Russian city of Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, a spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia confirmed on April 25.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on Moskalik’s death, though on April 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had received intelligence updates on the elimination of senior figures within Russia’s military leadership.

According to the obituary, from 2015 to 2021 Moskalik was also part of the Russian delegation to the Minsk Contact Group and participated in the Minsk talks and Normandy Four meetings in Berlin and Paris.

He also worked on planning Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015.

Russia’s FSB claimed on April 26 to have detained a suspect, Ignat Kuzin, accused of killing Moskalik in the car bombing. According to Russian authorities, Kuzin allegedly put the explosive device in the parked vehicle. The FSB claimed the device was remotely controlled from the territory of Ukraine.

A criminal case has been opened.

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The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

The incident took place as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow earlier in the day to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While Ukraine has not been officially linked to the recent car bombing, Kyiv has previously targeted Russian officials who play a key role in Russia's full-scale invasion.

Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, was killed in an explosion at a residence in Moscow in December 2024, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent.

Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian expert involved in modernizing missiles launched against Ukraine, was shot dead near Moscow on Dec. 12, a Defense Forces source told the Kyiv Independent.

Aleksey Kolomeitsev, a Russian colonel who trained specialists in the use of attack drones, was killed in the city of Kolomna in Moscow Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on Sept. 28.

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Zelensky also praised Ukraine’s foreign intelligence and security services for their measures “to counter Russian agent networks in Ukraine and saboteurs.”

The Kyiv IndependentAbbey Fenbert