Moscow – The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, was killed along with his deputy early Tuesday in an explosion in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
Agence France-Presse and the Reuters news agency each quote a source from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as saying that the SBU killed Kirillov in a special operation.
The claim could not be independently verified. It was not clear whether both agencies were citing the same source.
An explosive device hidden in an e-scooter exploded in front of a residential building as the two men were leaving the building, AFP quotes Russian investigators as saying.
ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images
The bomb was activated remotely and had a power equivalent to about 300 grams of TNT, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing anonymous emergency services sources.
“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. “Investigative and search activities are underway to establish all the circumstances surrounding this crime.”
He also said the Kremlin was treating it as a terrorist attack.
ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images
The committee conducts important responsible investigations in Russia.
Kirillov was under sanctions from several countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, for his role in Ukraine.
Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court on December 16 for the use of chemical weapons banned in Ukraine during The Russian military operation in Ukraine which began in February 2022.
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The SBU has said it has recorded more than 4,800 battlefield uses of chemical weapons since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.
Over the nearly three years of operation, Russia has made small but steady contributions to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.
Kirillov had held his position since April 2017, AFP notes.
