Overview

Yaroslav Yaroslavich Moskalik serves as deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (GOU) of Russia’s Armed Forces. Leaked files describe him as playing a role in overseeing the Stroytransgaz shipments of phosphate ores from Syria in early August 2018. In this capacity, he coordinated with the Russian Ministry of Defense, Syrian state-owned corporations, Russian private military companies, Syrian state security, and pro-Assad paramilitary elements. Moskalik previously held positions as the head of the Second Department of the GOU and later as the head of department of the GOU. He attained the rank of lieutenant general by presidential decree on December 8, 2021.

Born on August 22, 1966, Moskalik spent his formative years from 1973 to 1983 in Angren, Uzbekistan, before relocating to Russia, both part of what was then the Soviet Union, to pursue a military career. Following this move, he enrolled at the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, where he studied from August 1983 to July 1987. Upon graduation, Moskalik was assigned to military unit 34091 in the village of Knyaze-Volkonskoye, serving there from July 1987 to July 2000. This unit was led in the late 1980s by Alexander Rukshin, who later became the head of the GOU, serving from 2001 to 2008. Military unit 34091 gained media attention early in the first decade of the 2000s because of its high level of associated criminal activities.

From July 18, 2000, to August 18, 2012, Moskalik’s career saw significant changes. He departed from Knyaze-Volkonskoye, attended the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces, and subsequently served in Moscow and the North Caucasus. During this period, specifically in and around December 2003, Moskalik held the position of “commanding officer of the grouping of federal forces in Chechnya.”
From 2015 to 2023, Moskalik became more involved and present as a Russian representative in various international military-technical meetings, negotiations, and conferences. Many of Moskalik’s appearances were at Collective Security Treaty Organization (June 2019, April 2021, and May 2023), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (September 2021), Moscow Conference on International Security (June 2021), and Union State (November 2019, December 2019) events. Notably, Moskalik became a recurrent figure in Russian state delegations on matters of Syria and Ukraine, appearing in bilateral Syrian–Russian meetings with President Bashar al-Assad (May 2018 and January 2020), the multilateral Astana talks on Syria, the Normandy Format (October 2015 and December 2019), and Minsk dialogues (December 2015) on Ukraine. Moskalik is frequently seen seated next to or talking to high-level Russian officials at these meetings, including but not limited to former Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Presidential Advisor on Foreign Policy Yuri Ushakov, Russian President’s Special Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov, and Vladislav Surkov.

Despite his frequent appearances at numerous international military forums, Moskalik is rarely mentioned in open sources. Consequently, no information is available regarding any awards he may have received or other professional, business, or social associations. This lack of public presence may explain why Moskalik, unlike his professional superiors and peers, has not been subject to any international sanctions. Moskalik is married and has at least four sons. Many of his friends and relatives are active on social media and appear to reside in Novosibirsk.