An explosive device ripped through a parked car near Moscow on Friday, killing a senior Russian general, investigators said, in an attack that resembled previous killings claimed by Ukraine.

Authorities named the victim as General-lieutenant Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational directorate of the military's General Staff, which is in charge of army operations.

Kyiv has not commented on the attack, which bore the hallmarks of previous assassinations of military figures and high-profile backers of the Kremlin's offensive over the last three years.

Ukraine has called some of them "legitimate targets" and sees the attacks as retribution for Moscow's military campaign, which has resulted in tens of thousands of people killed.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder probe after a Volkswagen Golf blew up outside a block of flats in the town of Balashikha, east of Moscow.

"Our military figure was killed as a result of a terrorist attack," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The general's body lay on the ground close to the front door of a block of flats and a few metres from the charred remains of a white car whose rear section was torn away, footage from the scene posted by the Investigative Committee showed.

Several investigators were working at the scene.

Police had cordoned off the site on Friday, with ambulances surrounding the area. (AFP)