Translated by Silvia Toro
On April 22 2025, the second highest Russian military official, Yaroslav Moskalik, died after an explosion in the suburbs of the capital city. According to the reconstruction, an improvised explosive device was hidden on a Volkswagen Golf and, once activated, caused the death of the official.
Russia, through the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, has immediately accused the Ukrainian secret service of responsibility. At the moment, however, there is no sufficient evidence directly linking Kiev to the attack, and there have been no official statements from the Ukrainian authorities.
This episode is not an isolated case. In the last months, there have been several assassinations of Russian military and political figures. In some cases, Ukraine has openly claimed these actions, defining the Russian officials as “legitimate targets”, being them responsible for handling and conducting the invasion operation against its territory.
The death of Moskalik happens in a particularly sensitive moment: around these days a meeting between the special envoy of the American President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The aim is to restart negotiations to stop the war, a process that, at least in words, seems to have Moscow and Kiev ready for a more concrete dialogue.
At the same time, during the funerals of Pope Francis, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Donald Trump and other European leaders, taking the opportunity to strengthen the diplomatic assistance to Ukraine and restate the need for a just and long peace.
Despite
the diplomatic openness evidences, in
the field the war goes on intensively. Exactly in the last hours,
Russia attacked again, launching 103
drones
against Ukrainian
targets, showing that the path to a definitive end of hostilities
is
long and complex.
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