Sawt Falasteen - Russian general killed by car bomb near Moscow

Authorities named the victim as General-lieutenant Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational directorate of the military's General Staff, which is in charge of army operations.

Kyiv had not commented on the attack, which bore the hallmarks of previous assassinations of military figures and high-profile backers of the Kremlin's offensive over the last three years.

Ukraine has called some of them "legitimate targets" and sees the attacks as retribution for Moscow's military campaign, which has resulted in tens of thousands of people killed.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder probe after a Volkswagen Golf blew up outside a block of flats in the town of Balashikha, east of Moscow.

"Our military figure was killed as a result of a terrorist attack," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The general's body lay on the ground close to the front door of a block of flats and a few metres from the charred remains of a white car whose rear section was torn away, footage from the scene posted by the Investigative Committee showed.

Several investigators were working at the scene.

Police had cordoned off the site on Friday, with ambulances surrounding the area, an AFP reporter saw.

A body lying on the ground could be seen from the upper floors of surrounding buildings.

Locals said they heard a loud blast at around 10:45 a.m. (0745 GMT).

"The explosion was very strong, it even gave me heart pain," Lyudmila, a 50-year-old who lives nearby told AFP.

- 'Improvised explosive device' -

The killing appeared similar to previous attacks claimed by Kyiv on figures linked to Russia's three-year offensive on the country.

Ukraine's secret services said last December it was behind the assassination of the head of the Russian military's chemical weapons department.

A remotely operated bomb attached to a scooter had exploded as he left an apartment block in Moscow.

Security camera footage posted by the Izvestia newspaper of Friday's blast showed a massive explosion, sending fragments flying into the air. The blast happens just as someone can be seen walking towards the car.

The "blast was caused by the triggering of an improvised explosive device" packed with metal fragments designed to cause maximum harm, investigators said.

The Agentstvo investigative news site, citing leaked information, said Moskalik lived in Balashikha, but the Volkswagen was not registered to him.

Russian Telegram channels with links to law enforcement posted unconfirmed reports that the car had been purchased a few months ago by a man from the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

They wrote that it had been parked outside the block of flats for a few days and was equipped with a camera.

TASS reported that Moskalik was 59.

According to the Kremlin website, he had represented the Russian military at ceasefire talks with Ukraine in 2015 amid the conflict between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists.

- 'Serious blunders' -

Russian President Vladimir Putin made Moskalik general-lieutenant in 2021.

Russians linked to Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine had been targeted in attacks over the last three years.

They include the August 2022 car bombing of nationalist Darya Dugina and an explosion in a Saint Petersburg cafe in April 2023 that killed high-profile military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known as Vladlen Tatarsky.

Kyiv has in some cases claimed responsibility or revelled in the attacks.

It has not commented on Friday's attack.

After the December killing of Igor Kirillov, the military's chemical weapons chief, Putin made a rare admission of failings by his powerful security agencies.

"We must not allow such very serious blunders to happen," he said.

X.Habash--SF-PST