 "Russian general killed in car bomb: How pro-Kremlin officials are being assassinated in broad daylight")
A senior Russian military officer, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed on Friday in what was reportedly a targeted car bombing on the outskirts of Moscow.
The incident is the latest in a growing series of assassinations of pro-Kremlin figures and military officials since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Moskalik, the deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, died in the blast that occurred in the town of Balashikha , located in the Moscow region.
According to Russian investigative authorities, the explosion was triggered by an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel and placed in a parked car. The bomb reportedly detonated remotely as Moskalik, a local resident, walked by.
The attack coincided with a highly sensitive diplomatic moment as Russian President Vladimir Putin began a closed-door meeting in the Kremlin with Steve Witkoff , the special envoy of US President Donald Trump.
Witkoff, who does not hold formal diplomatic credentials, has visited Russia four times in recent months to discuss a potential peace agreement.
Trump, who has made ending the war in Ukraine a priority in his second term, told reporters, “The next few days are going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now. I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.”
The timing of Moskalik’s assassination — just as peace discussions were underway — could complicate the already fragile dialogue between Washington and Moscow.
Reuters recently published documents revealing significant disagreements between US and Ukrainian proposals on issues such as territorial concessions and the future of sanctions.
Is there a pattern to the targeted killings?
The killing of Moskalik is not an isolated incident. In recent years, multiple Russian generals, propagandists, scientists and pro-Moscow collaborators have been assassinated in attacks that bear similar hallmarks.
While Ukraine has rarely claimed official responsibility for these operations, intelligence analysts and military experts widely believe that Ukrainian security services have been behind many of them.
Last December, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov — who headed Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces — was killed in Moscow by a bomb hidden inside an electric scooter near his apartment building.
His assassination followed accusations by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) that Kirillov had used banned chemical weapons during operations in Ukraine.
Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s appointed special representative for Ukraine and Russia, criticised Kirillov’s assassination, stating that it could be in violation of the rules of warfare.
Mikhail Zvinchuk, a military blogger with close ties to the Russian defence establishment, noted that Moskalik’s profile had been rising within the Russian military.
“According to chatter behind the scenes, one scenario for personnel reshuffling at the general staff had Moskalik being considered as a potential head of the national defence management centre, primarily due to his methodical approach and thoughtfulness,” Zvinchuk was quoted by The Guardian.
Moskalik, 59, had been part of several significant Russian delegations in recent years. He participated in at least two rounds of international negotiations involving Ukraine and Western officials — in 2015 and 2019 — as well as in a 2018 diplomatic mission to Syria to meet with the Assad regime.
Who is on the list of pro-Kremlin assassinations?
Since the start of the war, Ukraine has reportedly pursued a strategy of targeting individuals it accuses of involvement in war crimes or propaganda supporting Moscow’s military efforts. These killings span across Russian territory and Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine.
On December 17, 2024, just a few months before Moskalik’s death, General Igor Kirillov was killed, as previously mentioned.
Days earlier, missile scientist Mikhail Shatsky was shot dead in a forest near Moscow.
In December 2023, former Ukrainian MP Illya Kyva, known for his pro-Russian stance, was shot and killed in a park outside Moscow.
Similarly, in July 2023, Russian Navy officer Stanislav Rzhytskyi, reportedly involved in a deadly missile strike on Vinnytsia in July 2022 that killed 27 civilians, was gunned down in Krasnodar.
Sergei Yevsiukov, the former head of the Olenivka prisoner-of-war camp in Russian-occupied Donetsk, died in a car explosion on December 9, 2024.
The Olenivka facility was infamous for torture and abuse, and over 50 Ukrainian POWs were killed there in an explosion in 2022, which Kyiv described as a deliberate war crime.
Another figure killed was Armen Sarkisian, the founder of the pro-Kremlin Arbat battalion operating in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. He died in February 2025 after an explosion ripped through the entrance of a luxury residential complex in Moscow.
The bomb had reportedly been hidden inside a couch placed near the entrance. According to Russian media, Sarkisian lost a leg and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
The attack also killed another individual and injured four others. Sarkisian had been described by Ukraine’s SBU as a “crime boss” and was alleged to have recruited convicts to fight for Russia.
One of the most prominent early assassinations was that of Darya Dugina, the daughter of ultranationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin. Dugina died in August 2022 when a bomb planted under her Toyota Land Cruiser detonated outside Moscow.
Though her father was believed to be the intended target, the killing of Dugina was widely seen as a significant blow to Russia’s pro-war propaganda network. The Washington Post, citing intelligence sources, reported that the attack was carried out by Ukraine’s SBU.
Pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, another high-profile propagandist, was killed in April 2023 during a public event at a cafe in St. Petersburg .
The explosive device had been concealed inside a decorative statue handed to him moments before the blast, which also injured 25 other people.
What does this mean for Russia’s security & Ukraine’s strategy?
Analysts suggest that these assassinations aim to achieve multiple strategic objectives. According to Ukrainian military analyst Dmytro Zhmailo, “The fact that (Ukrainian) intelligence services can carry out such operations in Moscow severely undermines (Russia’s) morale and combat readiness. Every such operation is a failure of their security architecture.”
Zhmailo told The Kyiv Independent that such attacks force Russia to divert resources from the frontlines and increase internal security expenditure, thereby impacting operational effectiveness in Ukraine.
In many cases, the individuals targeted had either played direct roles in military operations against Ukraine or were seen as key enablers of Moscow’s war effort through propaganda or administrative support.
Analysts believe the killings are also meant to punish those accused of war crimes, especially as the prospect of prosecuting them through international courts remains slim.
In Russian-occupied Ukraine, figures seen as collaborators have also been targeted. Oleksiy Kovalyov, a former MP from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party who later joined the Russian-installed administration in Kherson, was shot dead in August 2022.
Kirill Stremousov, another top figure in the illegal Russian government in Kherson Oblast, died in a car accident in November 2022. The Ukrainian partisan group Atesh claimed responsibility.
Where do the peace talks stand?
The attack on Moskalik has come at a sensitive juncture. While T rump continues to push for a peace deal , the reality on the ground remains complicated.
Despite the Trump administration’s desire to show diplomatic progress before the president’s 100th day in office, the Kremlin has so far refused to agree to a ceasefire and continues to launch missile strikes on Ukraine.
Putin recently reiterated that Moscow will not hold direct negotiations with Zelenskyy, asserting that Kyiv’s elections — postponed under martial law — undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy.
Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has stated, “[Putin] is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war.”
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are being considered by Moscow as potential venues for a summit between Trump and Putin, due to their neutral stance.
Traditional diplomatic sites in Europe such as Helsinki and Geneva are reportedly off the table due to the West’s continued support for Ukraine, reported TASS.
As the war enters its third year, the conflict has increasingly spilled into Russian territory through a series of bold, covert attacks.
With inputs from agencies
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
