 "According to Russian media, a car exploded in the Moscow suburbs, killing Major General Yaroslav Moskalik. Image/X")
Russia’s FSB security service claimed on Saturday that it had captured a suspect in the vehicle bombing that killed a senior Russian military commander on Friday.
The Kremlin accused Ukraine for the death of 59-year-old Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
There was no official statement from Kyiv on Moskalik’s death.
The FSB identified the suspect as Ignat Kuzin, claiming he was “an agent of the Ukrainian special services”.
Moskalik was assassinated in the hamlet of Balashikha, east of Moscow, only hours before US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian war bloggers described Moskalik as a rising star. He had participated in several high-level Russian delegations that had met Western officials to try to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine.
He also dealt with Syria, presenting a report on military-technical cooperation in Africa and the Middle East at a security forum in Moscow in 2021.
Rybar, a Russian war blogger with over 1.2 million subscribers on Telegram, said he was viewed as “one of the most intelligent and demanding officers” in his directorate.
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More ShortsThe blogger said Moskalik was being considered to serve as head of the National Defence Management Centre, the supreme command and control centre of the Russian Armed Forces, due to his “systematic approach and thoughtfulness.”