A senior Russian general has died in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities say, with news of the blast breaking just before US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Witkoff is in the Russian capital for crunch talks on a potential ceasefire in Ukraine as Trump’s self-imposed deadline of ending the war within the first 100 days of his presidency nears.

The envoy was received by Putin at the Kremlin on Friday afternoon, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, adding that Witkoff has also met with senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.

Dmitriev and Russian presidential aide and former ambassador to Washington, Yuri Ushakov, were part of the meeting with Putin, Tass said.

This is Witkoff’s fourth trip to Russia since Trump returned to the White House in January, and the second one this month.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was “ready to reach a deal” on ending the war in Ukraine in an interview with CBS News on Thursday, but added that there were still some specific points that needed to be “fine-tuned.”

The United States has been applying more pressure on Ukraine after threatening last week it could walk away from the talks “within days” if it becomes clear a deal cannot be reached.

The latest framework, presented by the Trump administration in Paris last week, proposed significant sacrifices from Kyiv, including US recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and Ukraine ceding large swaths of territory to Russia, according to an official familiar.

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called “to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today.”

Asked what concessions Russia was offering on Thursday, Trump replied, “stopping the war,” suggesting that not “taking the whole country” is a “pretty big concession.”

CNN reported this week that Trump was getting frustrated with the stalling talks and has privately told advisers that mediating a deal has been more difficult than he anticipated.

Recognizing Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula Moscow ilegally annexed in 2014, as Russian would cross a major red line for Ukraine and its European allies, and would be in breach of established international law.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea, saying there was “nothing to talk about” as recognizing Crimea as part of Russia would be against Ukraine’s constitution.

Trump slammed Zelensky for the comments, saying they were “inflammatory” and made it “difficult to settle this war.”

Trump’s scolding of his counterpart in Kyiv came after a meeting in London aimed at bringing about an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine had been downgraded after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he wouldn’t attend.

Series of targeted bomb attacks

Friday’s highly anticipated meeting took place soon after the announcement that General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, had been killed in the explosion of a Volkswagen Golf in Balashikha, which lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed Moskalik’s death, adding that the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. The attack appeared similar in nature to previous assassination of Russian officials, including that of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a top Russian general who was accused of orchestrating the use of chemical weapons on the battlefields in Ukraine.

Kirillov – who headed Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection forces – was killed in December, after a remotely operated bomb planted inside an electric scooter went off outside an apartment building in Moscow.

CNN has reached out to Ukrainian authorities for comment.

The influential Russian military blog Rybar said Moskalik was not in the car when it exploded but was close to it after walking out of a nearby building. CNN can not independently verify this report.

Little is known about Moskalik, who held the rank of Lieutenant General.

Rybar described him as “competent and demanding” and said “he was not well liked” because he was “tough on his subordinates.”

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal probe into the explosion. It added that an investigative team, including forensic experts and law enforcement officers, had begun examining the scene.

Tass earlier reported that the explosive device was “homemade.”

Friday’s reported blast comes two days after a fire broke out at an underground car park in Moscow’s business district following an explosion there.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood, Alayna Treene and Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting.