A high-ranking Russian general, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), has been killed in an explosion in Moscow.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the incident occurred early on Tuesday as Kirillov was leaving a residential block when a device concealed in a scooter was detonated. Kirillov’s assistant was also killed in the blast.
In October, the UK imposed sanctions on Kirillov, accusing him of overseeing the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine and being a significant proponent of Kremlin disinformation. On Monday, Ukraine’s secret service, the SBU, charged him in absentia, alleging that he was responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the murder of the two servicemen and confirmed that forensic experts, investigators, and operational services are at the scene. “Investigative actions and operational search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime,” the committee said.
