Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a senior figure in Russia’s military high command who was closely involved in directing war operations in Ukraine and briefing the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, has been killed in a powerful explosion near his home in Balashikha, a city in the Moscow region. Russian state media confirmed the death, which occurred on 25 April, when an improvised explosive device hidden in a car exploded as the general exited his building.
Moskalik served as Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff. Since the beginning of Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he was tasked with monitoring battlefield developments and delivering direct reports to Putin. His obituary, published by the Russian Ministry of Defence’s official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, states that he led a special combat control group that observed frontline activities.
His involvement with the Kremlin predates the current war. Between 2015 and 2021, Moskalik was part of the Russian delegation to the Minsk Contact Group and took part in negotiations in Berlin and Paris under the Normandy format. He was also linked to Russia’s military operations in Syria in 2015, and reportedly served in counterterrorism actions in the North Caucasus from 2002 to 2005.
The explosion was amplified by a gas cylinder fitted in the car, propelling the general several metres away and killing him instantly. Russian authorities have blamed a Ukrainian national, Ihnat Kuzin, for the attack. Kuzin was arrested in Türkiye and later extradited to Russia. The Federal Security Service (FSB) claims that Kuzin planted the bomb using materials from a cache allegedly prepared by Ukrainian special services inside Russia.
While the Kremlin has not officially commented, Moskalik’s death represents a rare and serious breach of Russia’s internal security, striking at the heart of its war apparatus. His close proximity to battlefield planning and direct briefings to the Russian dictator signifies the symbolic weight of this elimination.
