A senior Russian military officer was killed on Friday when a parked car exploded near Moscow, according to the Investigative Committee, which has launched a murder investigation.
The victim was identified as Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the General Staff’s main operational directorate.
Authorities said the blast occurred in the town of Balashikha, located east of Moscow, when a Volkswagen Golf detonated outside an apartment building. Social media images from the scene showed the car engulfed in flames and heavily damaged.
The independent investigative outlet Agentstvo, citing leaked sources, reported that Moskalik resided in Balashikha, although the vehicle involved was not registered under his name.
Surveillance footage shared by Izvestia captured the moment of the powerful explosion, with debris flying through the air just as an individual appeared to be approaching the vehicle.
Investigators confirmed that the blast was triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) packed with metal fragments, specifically designed to cause severe injury or death.
Moskalik had previously served as Russia’s military representative during the 2015 Normandy format talks on Ukraine, aimed at resolving the conflict between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists. He was promoted to the rank of general-lieutenant by President Vladimir Putin in 2021.
The nature of the attack mirrors other high-profile assassinations of Russian figures connected to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. While Kyiv has claimed responsibility for some past attacks, Ukrainian officials have not commented on Friday’s incident.
Notable similar cases include the August 2022 car bombing that killed nationalist commentator Darya Dugina, and an April 2023 explosion at a Saint Petersburg café that claimed the life of pro-war blogger Maxim Fomin, known publicly as Vladlen Tatarsky.
In December, Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s chemical weapons division, was killed by a bomb hidden inside a scooter in Moscow—a killing Ukraine later claimed. Following that assassination, President Putin criticized the performance of his security services, admitting:
“We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen.”
