Top Russian general Igor Kirillov killed by a bomb in Moscow

MOSCOW,— A senior Russian general was killed on Tuesday in Moscow when a bomb, hidden in a scooter, exploded outside his apartment building, according to Russian media.

This happened just a day after Ukraine’s security agency charged him with a crime.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s military forces specializing in nuclear, biological, and chemical protection, died on the spot as he was leaving for work. His assistant was also killed in the explosion, which authorities said was detonated remotely.

Images from the scene showed shattered windows and charred brickwork, the aftermath of the blast. According to Russian news outlets, the device had been planted near the entrance to Kirillov’s apartment complex.

Kirillov had been sanctioned by several Western nations, including the U.K. and Canada, for his role in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service (Ukrainian intelligence agency) , known as the SBU, announced criminal charges against him, accusing him of overseeing the use of prohibited chemical weapons.

A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told The Associated Press, and Reuters that the SBU orchestrated the attack, describing Kirillov as a “legitimate target” and a “war criminal.”

The SBU claims that Russia has used chemical weapons over 4,800 times since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May, the U.S. State Department said it had documented Russian forces deploying chloropicrin, a gas first used in World War I, against Ukrainian soldiers.

Moscow has denied these allegations and instead accused Ukraine of employing chemical agents in combat. Kirillov, appointed to his post in 2017, was a prominent figure in spreading these claims.

He often alleged that Kyiv was planning attacks with toxic or radioactive materials, accusations rejected as propaganda by Ukraine and its allies.

Russia announced Wednesday that it detained an Uzbek man who admitted to planting and detonating a bomb that killed senior general Igor Kirillov in Moscow. Authorities said the man was acting on orders from Ukraine’s SBU security service.

This bombing is the latest in a string of targeted attacks involving prominent figures linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In August 2022, Darya Dugina, the daughter of nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow. In April 2023, military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died when an explosive hidden inside a statuette detonated during a public event in St. Petersburg.

More recently, former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kiva was fatally shot near Moscow in December. Ukrainian officials praised the killing, warning that other “traitors of Ukraine” could face similar consequences.

Earlier this month, an explosion in Russian-occupied Donetsk targeted Sergei Yevsyukov, the former head of Olenivka Prison, where dozens of Ukrainian POWs were killed in a missile strike in 2022.

Yevsyukov survived, but one person was injured. Russian authorities said they arrested a suspect in that case.

(With files from The Associated Press | Reuters)