Russian Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bombing in Balashikha, a suburb east of Moscow on Friday. The attack occurred as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with President Vladimir Putin to discuss a potential peace deal to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Russian authorities have labeled the incident a “terrorist attack,” with suspicions pointing toward Ukrainian special services. The assassination of Moskalik, a high-ranking officer in the general staff’s main operational department, follows a pattern of targeted killings of Russian military officials.
During the same day, Witkoff presented what is described as a final U.S. peace proposal to Putin, potentially involving U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the lifting of sanctions imposed since 2014. This proposal, seen as controversial in Kyiv, seeks to pressure Ukraine into a land-for-peace agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted on a ceasefire before discussing concessions.
At the same time, the Trump administration has had great difficulty attempting to reestablish a healthy, bilateral relationship with Russia, as detailed by The New York Times:
Mr. Putin has cast aside Mr. Trump’s calls for a quick peace in Ukraine, and Russia’s airstrikes on civilian targets appear to be increasing in ferocity. Hours after Russian strikes killed at least 12 people and injured 90 others in a huge attack on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, on Thursday, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called for more pressure to be brought on Moscow to get closer to a “complete, unconditional cease-fire.”
The Ukrainian authorities had no immediate comment on Friday about General Moskalik’s death.
General Moskalik served as deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, a division that conducts planning and execution of military operations. In 2015, he was part of the Russian delegation at talks in Minsk, Belarus, with Ukraine that failed to secure peace in eastern Ukraine, according to RBC, a Russian news outlet.
Video circulating on social media and verified by The New York Times showed a car exploding and catching fire outside an apartment block, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air. Other footage verified by The Times showed people rushing to the scene as secondary explosions echoed in the distance.
After expressing frustration with Zelensky earlier this week, Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday morning to condemn Russia’s latest missile and drone assault on Kyiv. In a dramatic public rebuke of Vladimir Putin, Trump wrote:
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Later that day, retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, criticized Trump’s Truth Social post, calling the plea unlikely to influence Russian military behavior.
“Well, I think it would be very surprising if President Trump’s tweet would have any real impact on President Putin,” Clark said bluntly when asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
Clark argued that Putin sees a strategic opening, particularly as the U.S. appears to be stepping back from some of its longstanding commitments in Europe.
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Anything reported regarding president Trump and his administration by the NY Times carries the veracity of Pinocchio!
Putin is not a punk that can be bullied Trump!
Either take this seriously or resign!
WAKE THE FK UP!