A car bomb exploded on the afternoon of 9/6 near an apartment building on Koldunova street in the Aviator district of Balashikha, an eastern suburb of Moscow. Russian authorities reported that the driver sustained multiple injuries and died at the scene. They have launched a criminal investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

The Russian Investigative Committee has not yet released the victim's identity or the motive behind the attack. However, local media, citing informed sources, reported the deceased was a 62-year-old lieutenant general.

ASTRA news channel indicated that an explosive device, equivalent to 300-400 grams of TNT, was planted under the driver's seat. Witnesses stated the victim suffered chest injuries from shrapnel. Residents managed to pull him from the burning vehicle, but he could not be saved.

The Aviator residential complex, constructed between 2011 and 2013, is where the Russian Ministry of Defense allocates homes to retired military personnel, veterans, and families of pilots, cosmonauts, and submariners from various regions across the country.

Investigators examine the scene of a car bomb explosion in Balashikha, a Moscow suburb, 9/6. Photo: AFP

This incident follows several car bombings targeting high-ranking Russian military officers in recent years, since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. In December 2025, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov died south of Moscow when an explosive device detonated beneath his car. Russian investigators at the time accused Ukrainian intelligence of orchestrating that attack.

Earlier, in 2024, General Igor Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, were killed in an electric car bomb explosion outside an apartment building in southeast Moscow. The Security Service of Ukraine later claimed responsibility for that assassination.

By Thanh Danh (According to TASS, APA, Mezha, ABC)