Russian general killed in car blast near Moscow as Putin meets US envoy on Ukraine

By Darya Tarasova, Ivana Kottasová, Nick Paton Walsh and Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — A senior Russian general died in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities say, the same day that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Witkoff spent three hours meeting with Putin at the Kremlin in Friday, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the meeting, adding that the talks were “constructive and very useful.”

Witkoff’s trip to Russia, the fourth since Trump returned to the White House in January, came at a crunch time as the US president’s self-imposed deadline of ending the war within his first 100 days in office nears.

“This conversation allowed the Russian and US positions to be further brought closer together, not only on Ukraine, but also on a number of other international issues,” Ushakov told reporters in a call.

Ushakov, who is a former Russian ambassador to Washington, was part of the meeting with Putin, as was Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, Russian state news agency Tass said.

The United States has been applying more pressure on Ukraine after threatening last week it could walk away from the talks “within days” if it becomes clear a deal cannot be reached.

The latest framework, presented by the Trump administration in Paris last week, proposed significant sacrifices from Kyiv, including US recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and Ukraine ceding large swaths of territory to Russia, according to an official familiar with the plan.

Opposing visions of peace

According to Ushakov, part of the discussion considered direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow – a possibility that would likely require further discussion and delay in the diplomacy the Trump White House has hoped would yield concrete results in a matter of days.

“As for the Ukrainian crisis itself, the discussion was, in particular, about the possibility of resuming negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” he said.

Witkoff and Putin likely also discussed an amended peace proposal which Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said emerged from a week of diplomatic wrangling. Zelensky said President Donald Trump had received on his desk a fresh document proposing a path forward in negotiations more amenable to Ukraine and its European allies.

Two diverging versions of a peace deal have been at the heart of the past weeks’ discussions – one supported by Ukraine and its European allies, and another backed by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff.

A European official familiar with the different drafts said the Ukrainian and European proposal envisaged a ceasefire followed by discussions of about territory, with Kyiv receiving Article-5 like guarantees from its allies.

The official said that Witkoff’s version proposed the recognition of Crimea as Russian by the United States, “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine, Kyiv not joining NATO, and sanctions against Russia being lifted.

The full details of the competing versions were first reported by Reuters.

Vice President JD Vance earlier on Wednesday called “to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.”

Asked what concessions Russia was offering on Thursday, Trump replied, “stopping the war,” suggesting that not “taking the whole country” is a “pretty big concession.”

CNN reported this week that Trump was getting frustrated with the stalling talks and has privately told advisers that mediating a deal has been more difficult than he anticipated.

Recognizing Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula Moscow ilegally annexed in 2014, as Russian would cross a major red line for Ukraine and its European allies, and would be in breach of established international law.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea, saying there was “nothing to talk about” as recognizing Crimea as part of Russia would be against Ukraine’s constitution.

Series of targeted bomb attacks

Friday’s highly anticipated meeting took place soon after the announcement that General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, had been killed in the explosion of a Volkswagen Golf in Balashikha, which lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed Moskalik’s death, adding that the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. The attack appeared similar in nature to previous assassination of Russian officials, including that of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a top Russian general who was accused of orchestrating the use of chemical weapons on the battlefields in Ukraine.

Kirillov – who headed Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection forces – was killed in December, after a remotely operated bomb planted inside an electric scooter went off outside an apartment building in Moscow.

CNN has reached out to Ukrainian authorities for comment.

The influential Russian military blog Rybar said Moskalik was not in the car when it exploded but was close to it after walking out of a nearby building. CNN can not independently verify this report.

Little is known about Moskalik, who held the rank of Lieutenant General.

Rybar described him as “competent and demanding” and said “he was not well liked” because he was “tough on his subordinates.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal probe into the explosion. It added that an investigative team, including forensic experts and law enforcement officers, had begun examining the scene.

Tass earlier reported that the explosive device was “homemade.”

Friday’s reported blast comes two days after a fire broke out at an underground car park in Moscow’s business district following an explosion there.

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CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood, Alayna Treene and Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting.