A high-ranking general in the Russian armed forces and his assistant were murdered in an explosion in Moscow.
Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, the director of the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was leaving a residential block early Tuesday when a device placed in a scooter exploded, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The explosive was detonated remotely, according to Russian security sources who spoke with state news agency Tass.
On Monday, Ukraine’s SBU security service prosecuted Kirillov in absentia, claiming on Telegram that he was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons.”.
The Ukrainian administration has yet to react to the general’s death.
Pictures from the scene showed that the entryway to a building was severely damaged, with burn marks on the walls and a number of windows blasted out. Two body bags were also observed on the roadway.
The UK imposed sanctions on Kirillov in October, claiming that he oversaw the deployment of chemical weapons in Ukraine and served as a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation.”
Ukraine’s SBU claims Russia deployed chemical weapons over 4,800 times under the general’s direction. Moscow disputes the allegations.
Russia’s Investigative Committee stated that it has “opened a criminal case into the murder of two servicemen.”.
“Investigators, forensic experts, and operational services are working at the scene,” it said.
“Investigative actions and operational search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime.”
According to Russian state news outlets, the explosive device that murdered 54-year-old Kirillov and his aide on Ryazansky Avenue had a force equivalent to 300 g of TNT.
They stated that bomb experts and professional search dogs had searched the surrounding area and discovered no further bombs.
Kirillov’s assets were frozen, and he was barred from leaving the country under UK sanctions.
In May, the United States accused Russia of using chemical weapons as a “method of warfare” in Ukraine, violating international agreements that prohibit their use.
According to State Department officials, Russia employed the choking chemical chloropicrin to achieve “battlefield gains” over Ukraine.
According to the SBU, Russian forces utilised drones to deliver chemical weapons on Ukrainian troops.
Ukrainian Col. Artem Vlasiuk earlier stated that nearly 2,000 Ukrainian service members were hospitalised in hospitals for chemical poisoning during the war, with three deaths.
The Kremlin denied the claims at the time, calling them “baseless.”.
Kirillov held many positions in Russia’s military that dealt with hazardous materials, including the Directorate of the Chief of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defence Troops.
In 2017, he was appointed to lead the NBC. Kirillov’s death came less than a week after a well-known Russian weapons specialist was shot dead near his Moscow residence.
Ukrainian media alleged that Mikhail Shatsky was assassinated by Ukraine’s military intelligence service.
