Cnn
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On Friday, a Russian general died in a bombing of cars in the Russian city of Balashikha, according to the authorities, with the news of the explosion that breaks just before the special envoy of American president Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, met the Russian chief Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Witkoff was received by Putin at the Kremlin early Friday afternoon, the Russian press agency Tass reported that the American envoy had also met the upper Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
This is Witkoff’s fourth trip to Russia since Trump returned to the office in January and the second this month.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, said that Moscow was “ready to conclude an agreement” to put an end to the war in Ukraine in an interview with CBS News on Thursday, but added that there were still specific points which were to be “refined”.
The long-awaited meeting on Friday took place shortly after the announcement that General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the main director of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, had been killed in the explosion of a Volkswagen golf course in Balashikha, which is less than 20 kilometers east of Moscow.
The Russian investigation committee confirmed Moskalik’s death, adding that the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device filled with bursts of bus.
The Russian military blog influences Rybar said Moskalik was not in the car when he exploded, but was close to him after leaving a neighboring building. CNN cannot independently check this report.
We know little 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 “hard for his subordinates”.
The Russian investigation committee said it had opened a criminal investigation into the explosion. He added that an investigation team, including forensic experts and officers responsible for the application of laws, had started to examine the scene.
Tass reported earlier than the explosive device was “homemade”.
The test reported on Friday comes two days after a fire broke out in an underground car park in the Moscow business district after an explosion there.
