Russians Accuse Sumy Native in Assassination of General Moskalik

A Ukrainian-born man from Sumy, Hnat Kuzin, is suspected in the killing of Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, according to Russian media reports.

The reports claim that Kuzin lived in the same apartment building as Moskalik and parked a car rigged with explosives outside the entrance on April 16.

Journalists say the suspect had rented an apartment in the building for a month and was last seen near the Volkswagen Golf later destroyed in the blast.

According to media reports, the perpetrator of General Moskalik’s assassination lived in the same entrance with him.

The suspect parked a car with a surveillance camera loaded with explosives on April 16.

Local residents told reporters the Golf was parked opposite the entrance on April 16. A man matching the suspect’s description was seen near the vehicle before disappearing.

According to the reports, the driver left Russia for Turkey on April 19, several days after parking the explosive-laden vehicle.

Kuzin, a native of Sumy, Ukraine, has been registered as a resident in Russia’s Karachay-Cherkessia region since 2015.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed it had “reason to believe Ukrainian special services were involved” in the attack.

“If the investigation confirms a Ukrainian connection, it would once again show the barbaric and treacherous nature of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

The alleged assassination comes less than two weeks after Russian forces launched a missile strike on central Sumy, killing 35 people, including two children, and injuring 127, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate has accused personnel from Russia’s 112th and 448th missile brigades of carrying out the terrorist attack.