Photo: TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP / Getty Images
A car explosion in a Moscow suburb on Friday (April 25) killed Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a high-ranking Russian military official. The incident occurred just as President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for crucial peace talks. The blast, which Russian authorities are treating as a terrorist attack, involved an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel and detonated remotely.
Moskalik, 59, was the deputy head of the main operations directorate of the general staff of the Russian armed forces. He was involved in several high-profile negotiations, including talks related to Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The meeting between Putin and Witkoff, who holds no formal diplomatic credentials, is part of a series of efforts by the Trump administration to broker a deal. President Trump has expressed optimism about reaching an agreement, stating, "I think we're going to make a deal." However, the incident may complicate these efforts.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the explosion, while Ukrainian officials have not commented on the incident. The attack on Moskalik is similar to previous attacks on Russian officials, which have been linked to Ukrainian special services. As peace talks continue, the U.S. proposal includes recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea, a move that could significantly impact the negotiations.