Car explodes near Moscow: Russian Defence Ministry general killed, Russian media report – photos, videos

A car exploded in the town of Balashikha near Moscow, killing a general of the Russian Defence Ministry.

Source: Baza, a Russian Telegram channel; TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, Russian media outlets Kommersant, Meduza and Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

Quote from Baza: "The person killed in the car explosion in Balashikha is Yaroslav Moskalik, a 59-year-old general of the Ministry of Defence."

Details: The incident happened at 10:40. A Volkswagen Golf parked in the courtyard of a residential building exploded when Moskalik was passing by.

The explosion reportedly threw the general several metres away.

Vazhnye Istorii reports that the department where Moskalik worked is the main link in the planning of operations in Ukraine.

Kommersant wrote that two people may have been killed – the driver and a passenger who was getting out of the car.

Moskalik was 59 years old.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case.

Baza reports that the car involved in the explosion had a surveillance camera installed. The blast occurred when General Moskalik left his home.

Reports suggest that an improvised explosive device (IED) was constructed using VOGs, 40mm fragmentation munitions intended for under-barrel grenade launchers. 

According to Baza, the VOGs were distributed throughout the car, with the majority placed on the left side of the boot. The explosion sent shrapnel flying up to 300 meters.

A similar explosion occurred in Moscow in December 2024, when General Igor Kirillov, Head of Russia's radiation, chemical and biological warfare troops, was killed in a car parked near his home. A camera had been set up to monitor his exit and an IED was attached to a scooter. The device detonated as soon as Kirillov left the building.

The Mash Telegram channel reports that the last owner of the Volkswagen involved in the explosion in Balashikha was a 40-year-old native of Sumy, Ukraine, named Hnat K. 

He reportedly obtained his Russian passport and driving licence in 2015, in Karachay-Cherkessia. Hnat K. had purchased the 2000 Volkswagen Golf in February this year.

Mash further notes that around 2014, Hnat K. worked at Azovstal in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. After the factory scaled back production, he frequently travelled to Russia for part-time work. He was registered in Khimki, near Moscow, and despite not posting a photo on social media for a decade, he occasionally made posts critical of the Ukrainian government.

This news has been updated since publication.

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