Ukraine kills top Russian general Kirillov in Moscow bombing
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The news: Ukraine’s security service (SBU) claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed Russia’s head of nuclear, chemical and biological defence forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, in Moscow early Tuesday morning, in the most high-profile killing of its kind.
The context: A bomb hidden in an electric scooter exploded as Kirillov and his assistant exited an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, killing both, Reuters reported citing Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The committee opened a criminal case into the deaths, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, vowed retribution against Ukraine’s leadership.
An SBU official told media, including The Associated Press, Reuters and The Financial Times it was behind the attack. The AP said the source described Kirillov as a “war criminal and an entirely legitimate target”.
The SBU accused Kirillov of directing the use of banned chemical weapons, citing over 4,800 alleged cases “recorded since the beginning of the full-scale war,” in a statement.
The bomb that killed the pair was detonated remotely and the explosion shattered windows, scorched brickwork and sent shrapnel flying for dozens of metres, according to media reports.
Kirillov had been sanctioned by the UK in October over chemical weapons use and had been charged in absentia by Ukraine a day before the attack.
Russia denies the allegations and instead accuses Ukraine of using toxic agents in combat, The Associated Press reported.
The attack follows a string of targeted killings on Russian soil that Moscow attributes to Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
What they said: Medvedev described the attack as an attempt by Kyiv to distract public attention from its military failures and vowed that Ukraine's “senior military-political leadership will face inevitable retribution,” AP reported.
The sources: The Associated Press , The Financial Times , Reuters
