Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, one of Vladimir Putin’s top generals in charge of Russia’s nuclear and biological forces, has been killed in a bomb blast outside his Moscow apartment.
According to Mail Online, the explosion occurred moments after Kirillov exited his apartment building with his assistant, who also died in the attack. The bomb, reportedly hidden in an electric scooter, is believed to have been detonated by a Ukrainian hit squad.
The attack follows accusations from Kyiv that Kirillov oversaw the use of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian SBU security service charged him in absentia with war crimes, citing over 4,800 documented instances of Russian forces using chemical munitions since the war began.
Russia’s investigative committee confirmed the general’s death and launched an investigation into the bombing. The bomb, estimated to have a blast equivalent to about 200 grams of TNT, was likely remotely detonated.
Kirillov, head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces since 2017, was sanctioned by the UK and Canada for his role in the Ukraine conflict. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the explosion occurred shortly after the SBU accused him of orchestrating the use of banned K-1 grenades with CS and CN irritant agents, as confirmed by two laboratories linked to the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
