With the White House taking bold positions in favor of Russia, it is likely that the Ukrainian government decided to send its own message to Moscow.
A Russian general was killed by a car bomb in Moscow on Friday—marking the latest strike in a series of covert attacks against senior Russian officials.
What makes the incident more remarkable is the timing of the attack. The bombing took place only hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to meet with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin to discuss ways to end the three-year conflict in Ukraine.
Russian General Staff Officer Killed in Car Bombing
On Friday, Russian Army General Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed when a bomb exploded in the car he was riding in.
The senior Russian military officer was killed in Balashikha, which is located approximately 20 miles east of Moscow. The Russian security services acknowledged Moskalik’s death and have launched an investigation into the incident.
Although no one has assumed responsibility for the attack yet, it is obvious that Ukraine was behind it. Whether or not it was intended to affect the peace negotiations is unclear.
During the ongoing peace negotiations to end the Ukraine war, the United States has proposed certain points to Kyiv that it has regarded as unsatisfactory—such as giving up claim to the Crimean Peninsula and significant territory in southern and eastern Ukraine. Although the American proposals would allow Ukraine to maintain its military and defense industry, conceding a vast portion of its territory after so much sacrifice would effectively legitimize Putin’s conquest—a hard pill for Ukrainians to swallow.
And the Ukrainian government has so far not shown a willingness to concede territory.
“Our position is unchanged: only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday. “The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian people.”
Ukraine Has Killed Russian Generals with Impunity
The assassination of General Moskalik would not be the first time that the Ukrainian intelligence services strike deep behind the front lines against Russian officers and officials.
For example, in December, the Ukrainian intelligence services assassinated Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov outside of his home in Moscow. The senior Russian military officer was the head of the Russian military’s chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) department. Kyiv had accused him of orchestrating chemical weapon attacks against Ukrainian troops, and argued that he was a legitimate target in spite of his absence from the front lines of the war.
Indeed, Ukraine has shown that it will not shy away from taking the war to individual Russian officers and officials it considers to be responsible for war crimes. Among Ukraine’s target deck have been Russian submariners and aviators who have participated in missile strikes against urban areas.
With the White House taking bold positions in favor of Russia, it is likely that the Ukrainian government decided to send its own message to Moscow—by targeting and killing a senior military officer in the heart of the Russian capital, just before Putin met with the U.S. special envoy.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Shutterstock / chaossart.
