Moscow (Russia) - Explosion near Moscow. A top Russian general was killed by a car bomb on Friday.

The Russian news agency Tass confirmed that the dead man was Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik (†59), the deputy head of the headquarters of the Russian armed forces.

According to what is known, Putin's general was leaving his house at around 10.40 a.m. when a parked car suddenly exploded next to him.

The video from a surveillance camera shows the moment when the explosion occurs, resulting in an enormous shock wave. Other footage shows a burning VW Golf.

The incident took place on Friday morning, shortly before 11 a.m. (local time), in Balashikha, a suburb of Moscow. Many military personnel are said to live in the residential complex.

A few hours after the attack, Russian investigators are already talking about a "homemade explosive device". Bloggers close to the Kremlin are already certain that the trail leads to Ukraine. The authorities have initiated criminal proceedings.

It was initially unclear what tasks Moskalik had in the Kremlin apparatus. The investigative medium Meduza writes that Moskalik was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2021 and was apparently in charge of Syria in the past. He is said to have given lectures on the topic and benefited from business relationships with the Assad clan.

According to official information, Moskalik was most recently a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense in "various negotiation processes".

It remains to be seen whether the Kremlin will use the assassination attempt to torpedo the Trump deal with Ukraine . The fact is, Putin's generals live dangerously.

In December 2024, there was a similar attack on Russian General Igor Kirillov in Moscow - the high-ranking general and his aide died. Previously, in April of the same year, a car bomb attack was carried out on the well-known Kremlin propagandist Vasily Prozorov . The man survived slightly injured.

First reported on April 25 at 13:36, continuously updated