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Russian general killed in car blast just outside Moscow

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova termed the general's killing as a "terrorist act".

Investigators work the scene where 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, Russia, on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP/PTI)

A Russian general was killed in a car bombing on Friday, according to Russia’s top criminal investigation agency, marking the second assassination of a senior Russian officer in four months, news agency AP reported.

The Investigative Committee confirmed that Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device planted in his car in Balashikha, a suburb just outside Moscow.

Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko stated the bomb was packed with shrapnel, and investigators are currently at the scene. Russian media aired videos of the burning vehicle in a residential courtyard.

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“Fragments of the device were found at the site and have been sent for examination,” Peternko said.

No suspects were named by Russian authorities.

🇺🇦🇷🇺 – Russian Major General Yaroslav Moskalik killed in a car blast in Moscow region, coinciding with Witkoff’s visit to the Russian capital

He was Deputy Chief of Main Operations Directorate of General Staff of Russian Armed Forces.

It’s Russia who’s against peace right? 😉 pic.twitter.com/sHjF3bhYqK

— IL Libanese (@Dal_Libano) April 25, 2025

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the killing, terming it as a “terrorist act”.

“The main question is how to stop the war in the centre of Europe, the world. We see so many victims every day. Even today, a Russian soldier was killed in a terrorist attack in Moscow,” Zakharova was quoted as saying by TASS.

This attack follows the December 17 assassination of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who died after an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter detonated outside his home. Kirillov led Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces. Ukraine later claimed responsibility for that bombing, which also killed Kirillov’s assistant.

The blast comes amid US envoy Steve Witkoff expected visit in Moscow on Friday to meet President Vladimir Putin regarding a US-brokered peace initiative for Ukraine. This would be their fourth meeting since February.

(With inputs from AP)

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