Car bomb kills senior Russian general in Moscow: Officials

LONDON -- A car bomb in Moscow has killed a senior Russian military officer, Russian officials said.

The Russian Investigative Committee said Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik "was killed in an explosion" on Friday after an improvised explosive device allegedly planted in a parked car detonated in Balashikha, just outside Moscow.

Moskalik was the deputy head of the main operations directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the committee said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukraine for the explosion.

"The Kiev regime once again shows its essence," Peskov told a Kremlin-associated reporter on Friday. "The Kiev regime continues to be involved in terrorist activity in our country. This once again shows that despite peaceful negotiations, we must be alert and understand the essence of this regime."

There has been no official comment from Ukraine yet on the incident.

A team of investigators were at the site of the explosion, Russian officials confirmed.

ABC News has seen video of the moment the parked vehicle exploded as a person can be seen walking toward it.

The footage is seemingly from a CCTV camera overlooking the parking lot of what appears to be an apartment complex.

The explosion comes as President Donald Trump and his negotiators have been pushing to bring the three-year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine to a speedy end.

The president said Thursday he has a "deadline" in mind for talks to make progress, though he did not say what it was.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy and lead negotiator in the peace talks, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for a fourth time on Friday.

The meeting came a day after Trump issued a rare public rebuke of Putin after Moscow launched missile and drone strikes at Kyiv that killed at least 12 people, marking the deadliest attack on the capital city since the summer of 2024.

"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing," Trump said on social media Thursday. "Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"