Zelenskiy Praises Ukraine's Intelligence Amid Russian Officer Deaths

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday commended Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency for eliminating top Russian military officials since the war began, without directly addressing the recent car bomb killing of a senior Russian officer. The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the blast that killed Yaroslav Moskalik, 59, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of Russia’s General Staff, near Moscow last Friday. Kyiv has not commented directly on the incident.

Posting on Telegram, Zelenskiy praised Oleg Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, for successful operations targeting Russia’s military leadership and countering Russian agent networks. "Justice inevitably is done," Zelenskiy wrote, without specifying particular cases.

Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency previously claimed responsibility for the December killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, accused of overseeing chemical weapons use against Ukrainian forces.

Russian authorities have detained a Ukrainian national accused of terrorism in connection with Moskalik’s death. An obituary published by the Russian Defense Ministry’s official newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, and signed by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and top military officials, described Moskalik as a "loyal son" of Russia. It noted Moskalik’s role in supervising combat control operations during what Russia refers to as its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The obituary also highlighted Moskalik’s work from 2015 to 2021 on international military delegations handling southeastern Ukraine issues, where he was responsible for preparing briefings for the Russian president.

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, multiple senior Russian military figures have been targeted in deadly attacks attributed to Ukrainian efforts, although official acknowledgment from Kyiv often remains indirect.