A senior Russian military officer, Major General Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed on Friday in a car bomb explosion in the town of Balashikha, just east of Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee has confirmed. The powerful blast, which also claimed the life of a second unidentified individual, is being treated as a criminal case.

Moskalik was the deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces—a key position in Russia’s military leadership. The Investigative Committee revealed that the explosion resulted from a homemade explosive device filled with destructive elements. While the perpetrators remain unknown, authorities are yet to name suspects in the attack.

The blast, reportedly detonated remotely, occurred as Moskalik walked past a parked car near his residence. Russian news outlet Baza, citing law enforcement sources, said the device had been planted in the vehicle and triggered as Moskalik approached. Video footage published by Izvestia showed the explosion hurling car parts metres into the air, underscoring the severity of the blast.

Moskalik had participated in several major diplomatic and military negotiations, including the 2015 Normandy Format talks, where representatives from Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine convened in a bid to resolve the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. He was part of the security subgroup in the Minsk peace talks, working alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and top Kremlin advisers.

The targeted killing of high-ranking military figures has become increasingly common since the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow has blamed several of these incidents on Ukrainian intelligence operations. In a notable parallel, Ukrainian authorities were accused of orchestrating the December assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov using a bomb concealed in an electric scooter.

As of Friday evening, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has not commented on Moskalik’s death. The Kremlin, too, has remained silent, though analysts expect the incident to heighten security measures and intensify Russia’s internal investigations amid growing fears of infiltration and targeted attacks within its borders.

A cardinal convicted of financial crimes by the Vatican is claiming he can take part in the forthcoming conclave despite being listed as a “non-elector.”

Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, once one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican, was ordered by Pope Francis in 2020 to resign the “rights and privileges” of a cardinal after he became embroiled in a Vatican financial scandal.

The Sardinian cardinal previously held the position of “sostituto” (“substitute”) in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State – a papal chief of staff equivalent.

The role offered Becciu walk-in privileges to see the pope and he commanded huge authority across the church’s central government. He was later moved to a position running the Vatican’s saint-making department.

Becciu was convicted of embezzlement and fraud in 2023 and handed a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence. He is the first cardinal to be convicted by the Vatican’s criminal court.

But the cardinal, who has always maintained his innocence, launched an appeal that’s currently still under consideration. He’s allowed to continue to live in a Vatican apartment while this process is underway.

While the Holy See press office has listed him as a “non-elector,” Becciu told a Sardinian newspaper on Tuesday that “there was no explicit will to exclude me from the conclave nor a request for my explicit renunciation in writing.”

The decision of his participation will likely be decided by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who will oversee the conclave proceedings inside the Sistine Chapel.

The investigation into Becciu centered on the Holy See’s disastrous investment in a London property that saw the church lose tens of millions of dollars.

During his papacy, Francis sought to clean up Vatican finances and changed the law to ensure that Becciu, as a cardinal, could be judged by a Vatican tribunal of judges.

Although Becciu lost his rights and privileges as a cardinal, he was never technically removed from the College of Cardinals. He is allowed to take part in the pre-conclave discussions.

Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in a papal election. As it currently stands, there are 135 eligible cardinals who will participate in conclave. Becciu is 76 and still eligible when it comes to his age. (CNN)

When the Vatican announced on Easter Monday that Pope Francis had passed on at the age of 88, the Catholic Church entered a period known as sede vacante, which is Latin for “the seat being vacant”, the period between the death or resignation of a pope until the election of the next pontiff.

At this critical juncture, the temporary mantle of administrative leadership over the Vatican falls on the Cardinal Camerlengo, who holds the fort until the College of Cardinals elects a new pontiff in a conclave.

In 2019, Pope Francis nominated Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell as camerlengo.

The 77-year-old camerlengo serves as the interim administrator of the Vatican City State and the Holy See, managing temporal affairs to ensure continuity and order during the interregnum.

Cardinal Farrell’s duties as camerlengo include:

Certifying the pope’s death: Farrell officially confirmed Pope Francis’ death at 7:35 AM on Easter Monday, April 21, in the presence of Vatican officials, including the head of the Vatican’s health department. He oversaw the drafting of the death certificate, a formal step to initiate the sede vacante.

Sealing the papal residences: In a symbolic gesture to mark the end of Francis’ pontificate, the camerlengo presided over the sealing of the Papal Apartment in the Apostolic Palace and Francis’ residence at Casa Santa Marta, where the pontiff chose to live instead of the traditional papal quarters. This act, historically intended to prevent looting, underscores the formal closure of the pontificate.

Mourning and funeral rites: The camerlengo, alongside a team of three assisting cardinals, is responsible for coordinating the nine-day mourning period (novendiales) and the funeral, scheduled for Saturday, April 26.. The pope’s body will be placed in a single wooden coffin and moved to St. Peter’s Basilica for public viewing starting on Wednesday, April 23.

Preparing for the conclave: The camerlengo will oversee logistical preparations for the papal conclave, expected to begin 15 to 20 days after Pope Francis’ death, possibly May 6–11. This includes arranging accommodations for the 135 cardinal electors under 80, who will gather in the Sistine Chapel to vote.

Managing Vatican finances and administration: During the interregnum, the camerlengo administers the Vatican’s temporal affairs, ensuring financial and operational stability. He also destroys the late pope’s Fisherman’s Ring, a signet used for official documents, in the presence of the College of Cardinals, symbolising the end of Francis’ authority.

Who is Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the acting head of the Vatican?

Cardinal Kevin Farrell and other Vatican officials announce the death of Pope Francis in a video statement from the Vatican on 21 April.

When the world learned of Pope Francis’ death on Monday morning, an Irish-American cardinal, little known in the wider world, was the one to break the news.

After announcing that the pope had “returned to the home of the Father”, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell took on one of his biggest roles yet: the “camerlengo”, or the person who runs the Vatican after the death or resignation of a pope.

Pope Francis nominated the cardinal for the role in 2019. The cardinal will remain in the position during the “Apostolica Sedes Vacans”, the period between the death or resignation of a pope until the election of the next pontiff.
He also will play an important role in the centuries-old ceremonies to mourn Pope Francis.

Born in 1947 in Dublin, Farrell attended the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, according to the Vatican.

He held roles in churches around the world, serving as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico as well as at a parish in Bethesda, Maryland.

All told, the 77-year-old spent more than 30 years working for churches in the US.
Farrell was appointed Bishop of Dallas in 2007 until Pope Francis asked him in 2016 to serve as the leader of the Vatican’s new department responsible for the pastoral care of families, raising him to the rank of cardinal.

Years after naming him as camerlengo, in 2023, Francis chose Farrell as president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State. He was also named president of the Commission for Confidential Matters.

As camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell will be tasked with making arrangements for the conclave, the process through which the next pontiff is selected.

Technically, a camerlengo can become pope, as has happened twice in history: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939.

The cardinal also will preside over the certification of Francis’s death, laying his body into the coffin. After that, the cardinal is expected to lead a procession moving the pope’s body from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica.

The ceremony could take place as soon as Wednesday morning, according to the Vatican.