A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb in Moscow. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has said the disputed region of Crimea ‘will stay with Russia’. Listen to the latest Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Friday 25 April 2025 15:24, UK
We’ve just received an update from Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Russia’s attack on Kyiv which killed 12 people and left nearly 90 injured.
Yesterday, we told you how Ukraine’s special services are carrying out an investigation into the details of the missile involved, but Zelenskyy has said “it is already clear that it was a ballistic missile from North Korea”.
“The lack of sufficient pressure on Russia allows them to import such missiles and other weapons – and to use them here, in Europe,” he wrote on X.
“The lack of sufficient pressure on North Korea and its accomplices enables, in particular, the production of such ballistic missiles.”
Ukraine’s president said the missile contained at least 116 components sourced from other countries, adding that most of them were “unfortunately” manufactured by American companies.
“In today’s world, any war can very quickly draw in a wide range of actors, and any country that becomes a victim of aggression is never defending itself against a single entity, but against a group of accomplices,” he said.
“That is why it is so important for defence to be based on collective efforts as well.”
Steve Witkoff is in the Kremlin for another meeting with Russia’s president.
The meeting itself is behind closed doors, but we’ll share updates from those discussions as soon we have any.
In the meantime, here’s the moment he greets Vladimir Putin with a “how are you, Mr President?”
Donald Trump’s just having a quick exchange with reporters as he sets off to Rome for the Pope’s funeral tomorrow.
He’s just said Russia and Ukraine are “coming along, we hope”, adding it is “very fragile”.
“None of this stuff should have happened,” he adds, blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, once again.
Trump has spoken positively about a deal over the past day, but Ukraine has rejected any idea of recognising their territory as Russian, which appears to be a part of Trump’s peace proposal.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
Explosions like this are happening with increasing frequency in Moscow.
There have now been four since last summer, with high-ranking military figures the target each time.
The latest victim was another senior officer called Yaroslav Moskalik.
He was a lieutenant general, and deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces.
As our military analyst Michael Clarke said earlier (13.23), it’s unclear why he was targeted – it may simply be because of his seniority and apparent vulnerability.
As with previous bombings, there is an obvious question: is it because of the war in Ukraine?
Kyiv hasn’t commented on this bombing, but they did claim responsibility for the one in December that killed a top Russian general.
Kremlin embarrassment
Speaking to Sky News, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called it a “terrorist attack”, echoing language Moscow has used when describing similar attacks in the past.
The timing feels significant – coinciding with Steve Witkoff’s visit to the Russian capital to meet with Vladimir Putin.
If it were Ukraine, could it be a way of signalling their displeasure at the way peace talks are progressing?
Or is it an attempt to demonstrate how Moscow can still be hurt?
Either way, it’s not a great look for the Kremlin.
Bomb disposal experts and emergency services are on the scene in Moscow, where a car explosion killed a Russian general earlier today.
These are the latest pictures from the city’s Balashikha area.
The car bomb explosion was clearly a “very specific” attack, but we don’t yet know what the specific motivation was to kill the Russian general.
Our military analyst Michael Clarke says Yaroslav Moskalik’s killing “follows a pattern”, months after General Kirillov was killed by Ukraine in December for his part in producing chemical weapons.
While Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack, if it were the country’s intelligence service behind it, then it’s unclear at this point what the specific justification would be.
“What this character may have been responsible for, according to the Ukrainians, we just don’t know,” Clarke said.
“Presumably it’s a professional job. It’s not random. And, again, it’s a three-star general who’s working on the general staff in Moscow.
“It’s not quite clear what his involvement might be more directly in Ukraine, but if the SBU [Ukrainian intelligence] are behind this, I would imagine that they would then offer a justification. They would claim it and offer justification.
“But we’ll see. I think we’ll find out a bit more in 24 hours’ time.”
‘Propaganda loss’
He added it is “interesting” that Russia chose to confirm the incident.
“They’re not trying to pretend it’s anything else or an accident,” he said.
“So they, in a sense, are going with the idea that an assassination is taking place in Moscow, which is partly bad for them because it’s a propaganda loss for them, if it shows that Moscow is not a very safe place to be.”
For more on General Kirillov’s killing, click the link below…
Russia is investigating what it calls the murder of one of its senior military officers – see our post at 11.06.
General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow earlier today, and the video below shows the immediate aftermath.
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting Vladimir Putin now, as was expected.
The pair are now meeting in the Kremlin, after Witkoff arrived in Moscow earlier today.
This is their fourth meeting since February.
Residents in Kyiv are still reeling from yesterday’s deadly Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Flowers and teddy bears have been laid down in the residential area, where at least 12 people were killed.
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