Steve Rosenberg

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

I was there earlier this morning, and the apartment block had been cordoned off. There were police lines and Russian investigators outside the entrance, still clearing things away and looking for evidence. Quite a bit of damage to that particular entranceway, clearly, and a lot of shock. I mean, we spoke to residents nearby, and the sense was that, you know, suddenly this war...

I was there earlier this morning, and the apartment block had been cordoned off. There were police lines and Russian investigators outside the entrance, still clearing things away and looking for evidence. Quite a bit of damage to that particular entranceway, clearly, and a lot of shock. I mean, we spoke to residents nearby, and the sense was that, you know, suddenly this war...

which for many people has been a war on television or a war they've looked at on their phones, something that doesn't really concern them. You know, what happened today was a real jolt to the system when you have a top Russian general being assassinated in a residential district of Moscow.

which for many people has been a war on television or a war they've looked at on their phones, something that doesn't really concern them. You know, what happened today was a real jolt to the system when you have a top Russian general being assassinated in a residential district of Moscow.

It brings it home, certainly to people living around there, that actually the war in Ukraine is not happening... A long way away. It's actually very real and very close to home. And one thing the Russian authorities, I think, have been quite successful at to this point has been to normalise the war so that people think, well, you know, it's going on, but we'll get on with our own lives.

It brings it home, certainly to people living around there, that actually the war in Ukraine is not happening... A long way away. It's actually very real and very close to home. And one thing the Russian authorities, I think, have been quite successful at to this point has been to normalise the war so that people think, well, you know, it's going on, but we'll get on with our own lives.

As I say, this was a jolt to the system and a reminder that actually it's very close to home.

As I say, this was a jolt to the system and a reminder that actually it's very close to home.

Well, certainly the feeling from Moscow is, yes, Russia is pretty convinced that Ukraine was behind this. Russian officials have been pointing the finger at Ukraine, also at the West, suggesting that somehow Western countries orchestrated this attack. There's almost certain to be a response from Moscow. Retaliation already calls from some quarters for retaliation.

Well, certainly the feeling from Moscow is, yes, Russia is pretty convinced that Ukraine was behind this. Russian officials have been pointing the finger at Ukraine, also at the West, suggesting that somehow Western countries orchestrated this attack. There's almost certain to be a response from Moscow. Retaliation already calls from some quarters for retaliation.

It is a very high-profile killing. In Moscow, a very high-ranked lieutenant general. And, as I say, we're still trying to piece together exactly what happened and the circumstances here, but, yeah, I think a sense of shock would be the right way to describe things.

It is a very high-profile killing. In Moscow, a very high-ranked lieutenant general. And, as I say, we're still trying to piece together exactly what happened and the circumstances here, but, yeah, I think a sense of shock would be the right way to describe things.

Well, it is a blow, certainly, but, I mean, when you look back over the last, what, nearly three years of... what the Kremlin called originally and still calls the special military operation, something that was only going to last a few days or a few weeks maximum and has dragged on for three years. There have been so many blows.

Well, it is a blow, certainly, but, I mean, when you look back over the last, what, nearly three years of... what the Kremlin called originally and still calls the special military operation, something that was only going to last a few days or a few weeks maximum and has dragged on for three years. There have been so many blows.

This is an operation, a war, which has not gone at all according to plan for Moscow. And even though Vladimir Putin only yesterday, when he was addressing army chiefs, was very upbeat and saying things were going Russia's way and Russia had the strategic initiative in this war...

This is an operation, a war, which has not gone at all according to plan for Moscow. And even though Vladimir Putin only yesterday, when he was addressing army chiefs, was very upbeat and saying things were going Russia's way and Russia had the strategic initiative in this war...

When you look back at what has happened, and so much has happened and so much has gone wrong for the Kremlin in three years, what happened today, early this morning, this bomb attack, is the latest in a long line of incidents that Moscow did not prepare for. when Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops across the border into Ukraine nearly three years ago. Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

When you look back at what has happened, and so much has happened and so much has gone wrong for the Kremlin in three years, what happened today, early this morning, this bomb attack, is the latest in a long line of incidents that Moscow did not prepare for. when Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops across the border into Ukraine nearly three years ago. Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.

First of all, this is a statement released on the Telegram channel of the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic, purported to be Assad's first comment since he had to flee Syria just over a week ago. So the statement basically amounts to an attempt by Assad to justify his actions in those last few hours. and to deny that he abandoned Syria.