Major General Yaroslav Moskalik, Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, was killed in a powerful car explosion in the Moscow region on Thursday, April 25, according to Russian media and official sources.
The explosion occurred around 10:40 a.m. in the Balashikha district, just outside the Russian capital, as Moskalik walked near a parked Volkswagen Golf. Russian Telegram channels and state-run news agencies reported that the blast knocked the general several meters from the site of the explosion.
A car explosion in Moscow's suburbs reportedly killed the deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff.
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The Investigative Committee of Russia confirmed Moskalik’s death and said a criminal case had been initiated. Official spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko stated that the device was planted in a car parked in the courtyard of a residential building on Nesterov Boulevard.
Sources told TASS that the device was an improvised explosive filled with shrapnel, and the force of the blast was intensified by a gas cylinder inside the vehicle. Images from the scene show the aftermath of the explosion, with debris scattered across the area and significant damage to nearby structures.
Authorities have yet to publicly identify any suspects or motives behind the apparent assassination.
