Igor Kirillov, the head of Russian chemical weapons, is killed by Ukraine in Moscow

Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service carried out the most high-profile murder of its type Tuesday morning when it killed a senior Russian general in Moscow who Ukraine claims was responsible for using chemical weapons on Ukrainian troops.

A bomb concealed in an electric scooter detonated outside an apartment building, killing Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, and his aide, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which looks into serious crimes.

Reuters received confirmation from an SBU source that the hit was orchestrated by the Ukrainian intelligence agency. “The liquidation of the chief of the radiation and chemical protection troops of the Russian Federation is the work of the SBU,” stated a source.

As Kirillov and his assistant left a building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, the source claimed that a scooter carrying explosives exploded, killing them both.

A big explosion occurred as the two guys lingered on the pavement after leaving the building to board a car, according to unverified video footage of the attack that went viral on social media. The footage was not independently verified by Reuters.

As the most senior Russian military officer to be killed inside Russia by Ukraine, Kirillov, 54, is expected to force Russian authorities to reevaluate security measures for the army’s highest ranking officers.

Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and current top Russian security official, declared during a state TV-televised conference that Moscow would get revenge for what he described as a terrorist act.

“Law enforcement agencies must find the killers in Russia,” Medvedev declared. “We must do all in our power to eliminate the murderers’ masterminds in Kyiv. Who are these masterminds? We know. According to him, they are Ukraine’s political and military leadership.

President Vladimir Putin did not respond immediately.
Ukraine is blamed by Moscow for a series of high-profile killings that took place on its territory with the intention of depressing morale and punishing individuals Kyiv believes committed war crimes. Ukraine has stated that it views such targeted executions as a valid tactic and claims that Russia’s war against it constitutes an existential threat to the Ukrainian state.

Two dead appeared to be laying beneath black plastic sheets on the snow, and Reuters footage and photos from the scene showed a broken entry to an apartment complex with bomb-blackened bricks and doors dangling off their hinges.

Working “Fearlessly for the Motherland” was Kirillov’s motto.

Russian officials refute Ukrainian claims that they use chemical weapons on the battlefield. Kirillov, a married father of two sons, was occasionally seen on state television providing briefings at the Defense Ministry, where he accused the West of various alleged crimes or Ukraine of breaking nuclear safety regulations.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova praised Kirillov, saying he had worked “fearlessly” for “the Motherland” to reveal what she claimed were crimes committed by the West, including those using chemical weapons, and what Moscow claims were cover-ups in Syria and other places.

In October, Britain hit Kirillov and his nuclear defense forces with penalties and opened a new investigation because of their use of riot control chemicals and several reports of the poisonous choking agent chloropicrin being used on the battlefield.

Ukraine has accused these agents of being deployed to confuse its forces so they can’t protect themselves from Russian attacks.
As a buddy, Kirillov had informed him that he was aware of a threat against him, according to regional Russian governor Sergei Sitnikov.

“He told me some time ago that he had already been warned that the hunt for him had begun,” Sitnikov said in a statement, adding that he thought Kyiv had several motives for wanting to assassinate Kirillov, including his involvement in the creation and application of a heavy flamethrower system.

The SBU was quoted by the Kyiv Independent as saying that Kirillov was killed the day after Ukrainian state prosecutors accused him in absentia of using prohibited chemical weapons.

Additionally, the Lieutenant General was included in Myrotvorets, an extensive unofficial Ukrainian database of those deemed to be country foes (Peacemaker). On the morning of Tuesday, the term “Liquidated” appeared in red letters over a picture of Kirillov on the computer.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, several targeted assassinations have been carried out by Ukraine, according to Russia.

The most well-known incidents include the 2022 murder of Darya Dugina, daughter of Russian nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin; the 2023 cafe explosion that killed pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky; and the shooting last year of a Russian submarine commander who Kyiv accused of war crimes.

Kirillov oversaw Russia’s special forces known as the radioactive, chemical, and biological defense troops, which are tasked with defending ground personnel working in harsh environments amid radioactive, chemical, and biological contamination.