A senior Russian commander was said to have been killed on Friday in a car explosion in the Moscow suburbs, the latest in a string of deaths among Ukrainian opponents within Russia.
The Russian Investigation Committee, the FBI equivalent, has issued a statement identifying the officers as Lieutenant General Jaroslav Moskarik. Investigators said they have opened a criminal investigation into the explosion that took place in the town of Barashka, a suburban town, east of Moscow.
The explosion came when Russian state press reported that President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkov, was probably in Moscow. Witkov was expected to hold another prominent negotiation with President Vladimir V. Putin on ending the war in Ukraine and reestablishing bilateral relations between Russia and the United States. Putin has abandoned Trump's demands for a quick peace in Ukraine, and airstrikes on Russian civilian targets appear to be on the rise.
A video circulating on social media and verified by the New York Times shows the car exploded and sparking a fire outside the block of an apartment, sending thick smoke into the air. Other footage, verified by the Times, showed people rushing to the scene as secondary explosions echoed in the distance.
When Ukrainian authorities contacted them about the murder, they did not immediately comment.
In February, the prominent figure of Ukraine's prominent Russian separatist, Almen Sarkisian, was killed when a bomb exploded inside a residence at a gate in Moscow. Ukrainian officials did not comment on the explosion at the time.
At the end of December, Igor Kirillov, the general responsible for the Russian military's nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces, was killed by a bomb near entry into a residential building in Moscow. An official from Ukrainian Security Services, known as the SBU, said Ukraine was responsible for the murder at the time.
Maria Valenikova and Sanjana Varghese Reports of contributions.
