In what appears the latest targeted killing in a string of high profile assassinations of top Russian military brass since the Ukraine war began, an unidentified man - possibly a high-ranking military officer, was reportedly blown up Tuesday morning after a bomb detonated in his car.
The incident happened very early in the morning Tuesday in a suburb called Balashikha, just outside the Russian capital. While Russian authorities have yet to release the identity of the deceased man, it happened very near an area known to host residences of military and government officials.
"The location of Tuesday’s explosion is not far from where Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik — the deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational directorate — was killed in a car bombing last year," the Amsterdam-based Moscow Times writes.
Investigators said an "explosive device was detonated while a BMW X3 car was driving near a residential apartment building."
In this newest case, the speculation on Telegram is that the fatality was a 62-year-old lieutenant general. A formal investigation is underway:
Security camera footage circulated by pro-Kremlin media showed the vehicle bursting into flames from the trunk and back seats before rolling into a parked vehicle. According to the Telegram channel Mash, bystanders rushed to pull the driver out of the burning wreckage, but he died shortly after.
Russia's internal security service, the FSB, previously said it is making great efforts to tighten around high-ranking military officers of late.
This possibly adds, pending the details, to a growing list of high profile assassinations related to the Ukraine war. To review:
—Darya Dugina was killed in a car bombing in 2022 which was likely meant for her father, prominent political thinker and often dubbed "Putin ally" Aleksandr Dugin.
—Gen Igor Kirillov died in December 2024 outside of his residence when a bomb planted in a nearby scooter detonated.
—Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, who served as deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in a car bomb attack last April. A "homemade" explosive device detonated under his Volkswagen Golf in a residential neighborhood.
Throughout the course of the war there's been a string of these high profile assassinations on Russian soil involving car and even cafe bombs.
The cafe bombing had happened in April 2023, and killed prominent pro-Kremlin blogger and war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. The blast at a St. Petersburg cafe during a close-quarters speaking event wounded some two dozen bystanders, six of them critically.
America's CIA or Britain's MI6 has long been suspected of being involved in these targeted killings, or at least assisting in such brazen Ukrainian-linked operations, but ultimately little has been uncovered or proven in terms of a potential Western hidden hand in this ongoing 'dirty war'.