This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge. 

A top Russian general has been assassinated in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities have confirmed. The city lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow.

The deceased has been identified as Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, who died when a “homemade” explosive device detonated under his Volkswagen Golf, according to TASS. Shrapnel ripped through the area and what appears to be a residential neighborhood.

Crucially, news of the blast and killing was breaking just prior to President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The two sides are trying to find a way forward toward a Ukraine peace settlement, which President Zelensky has clearly not been on board with.

Witkoff was in his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin by early Friday afternoon, during which time news of Gen. Mokalik’s assassination, accompanied by shocking video of the event, was spreading around the world. Witkoff also met with senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.

Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik

An initial investigation at the scene has resulted in authorities describing that the improvised explosive device was packed with shrapnel.

The Guardian describes that “A video circulating on Russian social media captured the moment the car exploded, while additional images showed the vehicle completely burnt out.” Ukrainian leaders have yet to comment on the bombing.

“The latest apparent Ukrainian operation is unlikely to sit well with the Trump administration, which has been desperate to show tangible progress on peace before Trump’s 100th day in office next week,” The Guardian continues.

Videos of the car bombing suggest the person(s) behind clips like the below knew of the attack ahead of time…

The Friday meeting and visit to Moscow was Witkoff’s fourth trip and meeting with Putin, at a moment Moscow says it’s “ready” for peace, but has called for Ukrainian forces’ exit from the four annexed territories, and insisted that Crimea belongs to Russia forever.

Given the timing, was this Ukrainian or other European intelligence services sending a message?

Throughout the course of the war, there has been a string of similar high-profile assassinations involving car and cafe bombs.

The August 2022 killing of Darya Dugina, daughter of ultranationalist political commentator Alexander Dugin, is among the most well-known. Her vehicle exploded while it was traveling in a Moscow suburb, in an assassination likely meant for her father. Also, the Ukrainians owned up to killing senior Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpovwho. They died in a December 2024 scooter blast outside Kirillov’s apartment. He headed Russia’s Radiological, Biological, Chemical Defense Forces.