A Russian general has been killed after a car exploded near his home in Moscow in what officials suspect may have been a targeted attack.
General Yaroslav Moskalik, 59, a senior figure in Russia’s Defence Ministry, was reportedly walking past the parked car when it detonated, throwing him “several metres” through the air, according to initial reports.
Images from the scene show extensive damage and suspected shrapnel, with authorities believing an improvised explosive device (IED) was behind the blast.
🇷🇺CAR EXPLOSION KILLS ONE IN MOSCOW SUBURB
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 25, 2025
A Volkswagen exploded in a residential yard in Balashikha, tearing off the roof and torching the vehicle.
Preliminary reports say it could have been a bomb - possibly a targeted elimination.
Russia’s “mystery explosions” streak… https://t.co/h2d9nmn5uu pic.twitter.com/tJQ7B3GVYg
Moskalik served in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and represented the Russian military during talks with Ukraine in Paris in 2015.
The explosion occurred just days after three other blasts shook Moscow, raising concerns of rising unrest within the capital.
The blast also caused a fire, with thick black smoke seen rising over the city skyline just 15 minutes from the Kremlin.
Emergency services told local Russian media outlet SHOT: “An explosion occurred shortly before the fire broke out,” adding that the flames quickly spread to nearby construction materials.
Investigators have not ruled out sabotage or terrorism as potential causes of the explosion, as tensions remain high amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The attack echoes the 2022 car bombing that killed Darya ‘Dasha’ Dugina, daughter of a key Vladimir Putin ally, when a suspected explosive device detonated inside her Toyota Land Cruiser.
At the time, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Andrei Krasnov, a friend of the family, saying the car belonged to her father, and that “he was probably being targeted.”
Her father, Aleksandr Dugin, a nationalist philosopher often referred to as “Putin’s brain,” has long been a controversial figure, and his appearance and influence have drawn comparisons to the mystic Grigori Rasputin.
It comes as US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Friday to meet with the Russian leader who has so far rebuffed Washington’s calls for a Ukraine ceasefire.
This marks the fourth meeting between Witkoff and Putin this year. The talks lasted for three hours and were “constructive”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
It had brought the "Russian and US positions closer together not just on Ukraine but also on a range of other international issues", he said.
"Specifically on the Ukrainian crisis, the possibility of resuming direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives was in particular discussed," he added.
It comes as Kyiv has been on the receiving end of growing pressure from Donald Trump to accept territorial concessions as part of an agreement with Moscow to end the war.
The issue of the occupied Crimean peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, is a major flashpoint.
Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognising Crimea as part of Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Friday: "Our position is unchanged - only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian."
However, in later remarks he suggested "territorial issues" could be discussed if a "full and unconditional ceasefire" is agreed on.
"A full and unconditional ceasefire opens up the possibility to discuss everything," he said.
He also referenced comments made by Trump in an interview with Time magazine on Tuesday, in which the US president said "Crimea will stay with Russia".
"What President Trump says is true, and I agree with him in that today we do not have enough weapons to return control over the Crimean peninsula," Zelensky said.
In eastern Ukraine, three people were killed and 10 injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Pavlohrad when one hit an apartment building.
Donetsk regional prosecutors said separately that two people had been killed in an attack early on Friday on the settlement of Yarova, where the Russian army reportedly dropped an aerial bomb on a residential building.
Trump criticised a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed at least 12 people, and posted on social media: “Vladimir, STOP!”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 215 drones and missiles in an overnight attack this week, of which 48 missiles and 64 drones were shot down.
The attack involved 11 ballistic missiles, 55 cruise missiles, four glide bombs and 145 drones, they added.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko announced that Friday would be an official day of mourning day in the capital.
