During the explosion of a car in the courtyard of a residential building in Balashikha, Major General, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Yaroslav Moskalyk, was killed. This directorate is the main link in planning operations in Ukraine.
Initially, there was information that the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder. However, later the Investigative Committee confirmed Moskalyk's death, according to the department, the explosion occurred as a result of the detonation of an IED filled with shrapnel. A criminal case has been opened on charges of murder and illegal trafficking of explosives
According to Shot, the Volkswagen car that exploded today at 10:40 am was parked near the house on Nesterov Boulevard a few days ago. Preliminary reports suggest the IED was remotely detonated, with the perpetrator possibly observing from the balcony of a neighboring building.
Moskalyk is the highest-ranking Russian military officer killed behind the lines, after the head of the RCBZ troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who died in December last year after an explosive device detonated near the entrance of a residential building.
In 2021, Yaroslav Moskalyk was appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense. In 2015, he also participated in the negotiations in the "Normandy format" as a representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Photo: TASS