Above photo: Law enforcement officers work at the site of a car bomb, which killed senior Russian military officer, in Balashikha, outside Moscow, Russia April 25, 2025. Yulia Morozova / Reuters.
The Foreign Ministry said the high-ranking official was killed in a terrorist attack.
NOTE: RT reports in the Orinoco Tribune: The killing of a senior Russian general in a car bomb has again demonstrated the true nature of the Kiev regime, which has long engaged in “terrorist activities” in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy operations chief of the Russian General Staff, was killed by a car bomb outside his residence in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha early on Friday. Commenting on the incident, Peskov called upon the public to “stay alert, ”suggesting Ukraine was likely behind the assassination. “The Kiev regime once again shows its essence,” Peskov told journalist Pavel Zarubin, adding that it “continues to engage in terrorist activities” on Russian soil. The incident serves as a reminder that “despite the peace talks, we must stay alert,” he added, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin. Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova offered a similar comment, stating should Ukrainian involvement in the assassination be confirmed, it would demonstrate the “barbarian and treacherous nature of the Kiev regime.” Ukraine is betting on escalating the conflict and “irresponsibly ignoring constructive proposals” to settle it through diplomacy, she noted. “There is a reason to believe that the Ukrainian special services were involved in the murder, especially given that Moskalik was known to them from the time of his work in the Minsk Contact Group and the ‘Normandy [four] format’ for the settlement of the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine,” Zakharova added.
A top Russian military commander was killed by a car bomb near Moscow. The attack happened just hours before US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was killed by a car bomb in Balashikha, a city near Moscow. He served as deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
According to TASS, Russian officials say Moskalik was the only person killed by the blast. Authorities believe the bomb was an IED containing submunitions and had the power of more than 300 grams of TNT.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the bombing a “terrorist attack.” “The main question is how to stop the war in the center of Europe, the world. We see so many victims every day,” she said. “Even today, a Russian [general] was killed in a terrorist attack in Moscow.”
Ukraine has conducted similar bombing in Russia during the war.
The attack came just hours before Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia. Friday’s talks are the fourth round of negotiations between Witkoff and the Russian President.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. In recent days, he has called on Kiev to recognize Moscow’s control over Crimea. Ukrainian President Zelensky firmly rejected this proposal.
On Wednesday, Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for rejecting the idea of Ukraine. “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“[Zelensky] can have Peace, or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” he added. “We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE.”
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
