Ukraine Claims Responsibility for Killing Russian General in Moscow

Ukraine asserts that its forces were behind the killing of a Russian general in Moscow, marking a significant development in the ongoing conflict.

On Tuesday, a bomb concealed in a scooter outside his Moscow apartment building killed a senior Russian general. This incident occurred just one day after Ukraine’s security service filed criminal charges against him.

A Ukrainian official reported that the service conducted the attack.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who led the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed while departing for his office.

Kirillov’s assistant was also killed in the attack.

Kirillov, aged 54, faced sanctions from multiple countries such as the U.K. and Canada due to his involvement in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) launched a criminal investigation against him, alleging that he ordered the use of prohibited chemical weapons.

An SBU official stated that the agency was responsible for the attack.

The SBU also reported documenting over 4,800 instances of chemical weapons use on the battlefield since February 2022, with a particular emphasis on K-1 combat grenades.

In May, the U.S. State Department reported that chloropicrin, a poison gas initially used in World War I, had been deployed against Ukrainian forces.

Russia has denied deploying any chemical weapons in Ukraine and, conversely, has accused Kyiv of employing toxic agents in combat.

Kirillov, who assumed his current position in 2017, was among the most prominent individuals to make those accusations.

He conducted numerous briefings accusing the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning attacks with radioactive substances—claims that Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed as propaganda.

According to Russian news reports, the bomb detonated in Tuesday’s attack was activated remotely.

Images from the scene revealed windows that were shattered and brickwork that was scorched.

Russia’s leading state investigative agency announced that it is treating Kirillov’s death as a suspected terrorism case, with Moscow officials pledging to hold Ukraine accountable.