The Kremlin suspects that the assassination of Yaroslav Moskalik was orchestrated by Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has promised to look into the assassination of a senior Russian general outside Moscow on Friday, telling reporters “That’s a big one.” The incident took place as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow for high-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy chief of operations of Russia’s General Staff, was killed in a car bomb explosion outside his residence in Balashikha, a suburb east of Moscow.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova suggested there is “reason to believe that Ukrainian intelligence services were involved in the assassination,” noting that Moskalik was involved in talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis before the conflict escalated in 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also blamed Ukraine, saying: “The Kiev regime once again shows its essence,” while accusing the country of continuing to “engage in terrorist activities” inside Russia.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump, who apparently had not known about the incident until he was asked, said, “That’s hitting close to home, right? That’s a big one.” He added: “I’ll look at it. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
The assassination occurred as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow for high-level talks with Putin. Russian presidential adviser Yury Ushakov described the three-hour meeting as “constructive and very useful in nature”, saying discussions focused on restarting direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev which have been frozen since the spring of 2022.
Commenting on the talks, Trump said Russia and Ukraine “are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to.”
The agreement proposed by Washington reportedly includes US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, as well as “freezing” the conflict along the current front lines and acknowledging Moscow’s control over large parts of the four former Ukrainian regions which voted to join Russia. The deal would also reportedly prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and initiate a phased removal of the sanctions on Russia.
Zelensky, however, has ruled out any territorial concessions to Moscow, stressing that Kiev will not even discuss recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.
