Russia accuses Ukraine following killing of senior general in car explosion near Moscow

25 Apr 2025, 16:23 by AFP, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/afp/ · TheJournal.ie

LAST UPDATE | 23 hrs ago

RUSSIA HAS SUGGESTED that Ukraine was behind the death of a senior general,who was killed when a car exploded this morning not far from Moscow.

An explosive device ripped through a parked car in the town of Balashikha, roughly 30kms from Moscow, killing general Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational directorate of the military’s General Staff, Russian authorities reported.

Kyiv has not commented on the blast, which bore the hallmarks of previous attacks on military figures and high-profile backers of the Kremlin’s offensive over the last three years.

“There are reasons to believe that Ukraine’s special services were involved in the murder,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

If Ukrainian involvement is confirmed, she said it would be a sign of Kyiv’s “barbaric” nature and accused them of “escalating” attacks and trying to ruin ceasefire talks.

The blast occurred as US Presidential envoy Steve Witkoff was arriving in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Investigators say preliminary inquiries suggest the bomb was a homemade explosive device and had used shrapnel. Images from the scene posted on social media showed a blaze that gutted a car.

Local media has reported that Moskalik lived in the town but did not own the vehicle. Footage published by local broadcasters shows there was a large explosion.