CHRIS HUGHES: Putin general's assassination reveals chilling covert ops against Kremlin

The killing of Russian Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik today came in the wake of a string of covert operations missions serving Ukraine’s military aims. Just days ago a was blown up 700 miles deep inside the border from Ukraine- massively exposing Moscow’s security apparatus.

Both major hits represent a huge undermining of and seriously undermine any thought that Russia’s internal intelligence network is fit for purpose. Strategically the loss of such a military figure and any major military warfare equipment such as a bomber whittles down Moscow’s capability, which is already significantly depleted.

But this latest is huge for other and perhaps more hamrful reasons - it has sent shock waves through Russia’s hierarchy and will foment paranoia, diverting from the war effort. This seriously eats away at confidence in Putin's regime.

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It is likely whoever planted the bomb will have been paid for the operation, hired at arm’s length by anti-Putin groups, possibly working on behalf of Ukraine. will be huge so this is a high-risk assasination as it is also likely a person will have had to physically witness the bombing to report back.

Only in December Kremlin nuclear and was blasted to death by a bomb placed in an innocent-looking scooter outside his Moscow home. So far nobody has claimed responsibility for today’s assasination but Moskalik was a senior officer within the strategy unit of the Russian armed forces.

This will force others like him to watch their backs, be on high-alert and nervous, undermining their confidence and ability to move at will even in their own city. Psychologically the effect will be devastating - ifcannot keep them safe far from the front line then questions will be asked.

It appears the Volkswagen containing the bomb blew up as he walked past near his home so, again, at least one person involved in the plot may have been there as no timer was used. There is also a possibility it was detonated remotely using a phone signal if a live camera had been placed near the Volkswagen but we may not know for some time.

It is possible nobody will claim the bombing, even if Ukraine did directly arrange it because the mystery further undermines Putin’s apparatus. Perhaps it will benefit Kyiv to let people think there is a growing anti-Putin movement in Russia, which does also seem to be the case.

It is possible some of these operations are carried out by Ukrainians but more likely they are done by disenchanted Russians or Russian speakers, trained and hired for this purpose. They could have been trained outside Russia or Ukraine, ammunition and explosives caches hidden months before in preparation for a major mission.

It is also possible it was a joint operation conducted by Ukraine and special forces or intelligence operators working for outside countries allied to Ukraine. No matter how arm’s length it was - the finger of suspicion will be directed towards Kyiv - but it comes in the wake of three years of atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.

Hours before today’s Moscow blast Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported the blowing up of a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet following what it described as a “successful sabotage operation.” The agency showed on Telegram the jet burning in the distance, accompanied by the message: “An enemy Su-30SM fighter jet was destroyed in Russia - resistance to Putinism is growing.”

It was claimed the sabotage incident occurred at the Rostov-on-Don Central airfield, 700 miles from Ukraine, where the aircraft caught fire and burned down. According to the intelligence agency, saboteurs successfully infiltrated the site and destroyed the plane.

In mid-December 2024, Ukrainian intelligence carried out a successful sabotage operation in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, a region in the North Caucasus bordering the Black and Azov Seas. That mission resulted in the destroying of an Su -30 fighter and blowing up of three locomotives, another of many major sabotage missions by Ukrainian special operations units.

All of this is a blow to Putin’s security and image as the big strongman protector of the motherland.