One of Vladimir Putin's top generals has been assassinated in a horrific Moscow bomb blast - after the explosives were reportedly hidden in a parked car. The deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Yaroslav Moskalik, has been killed following the explosion at around 10.40am local time. Footage showed a powerful blast destroying the car. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for similar deadly bombings in Moscow, but it was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Moskalik was blown up as Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin on ending the war. Traces of IED striking elements were found at the site of the explosion, said reports. The explosion occurred at about 10:40 a.m., when the general was passing a Volkswagen Golf parked near a block of flats. The explosion “threw the general several metres away”. News outlet SHOT said the car filled with explosives may have been specially at the house where the general lived. According to SHOT, the IED was filled with striking elements with a diameter of about 6 mm. The car did not belong to the dead officer. The explosive was likely detonated remotely, while the perpetrator of the explosion could have observed it from the entrance balcony of a neighbouring block, according to versions in Moscow. In December, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, 54, in charge of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological defence troops, died in a bomb blast as he emerged from his apartment building in Moscow. This was seen as a Ukrainian secret services operation.This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.