The attack took place this morning on "Ryazansky Prospekt" in Moscow. An explosive device was set off in an electric scooter left at the entrance to an apartment building. The explosion killed the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, and his assistant. Kirillov is accused of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Russian channels in the "Telegram" application published photos showing debris from a destroyed entrance to a building and two bodies lying in the snow in front of it.
The Russian radiation, chemical and biological protection troops (RCBZ) are special forces that operate in conditions of radiation, chemical and biological contamination. According to a TASS reporter, components of an explosive device were seized from the scene. Law enforcement authorities specified that the explosion had a power of about 300 grams of TNT equivalent.
Was the attack the work of Ukraine?
Meanwhile, the BBC reported, citing a source in the Ukrainian security services, that Ukraine was behind the operation to assassinate Igor Kirillov in Moscow. According to the informant, Kirillov was a “legitimate target“, as he is a war criminal: Kiev claims that he issued an order to use banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian army.
On the list of those sanctioned
In this regard, “Kiev Independent” reported, citing the Security Service of Ukraine, that yesterday the Ukrainian prosecutor's office accused Kirillov in absentia of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations.
In October, Britain sanctioned Kirillov and the radiation protection forces for using chemical agents during the unrest. There have also been a number of reports that the Russians have used the substance chloropicrin on the battlefields of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian secret service SBU, more than 4,800 cases of Russian use of chemical weapons in Ukraine have been recorded since February 2022.
Kirillov has repeatedly made public accusations that the United States has secret bio-laboratories in Ukraine. He has also claimed that Ukraine is working on a so-called dirty bomb, a weapon of mass destruction with conventional explosive devices containing radioactive material.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also made similar accusations against Ukraine based on Kirillov's reports. However, there is no evidence for this, recalls the German public media ARD.
Moscow threatens revenge
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that the Ukrainian leadership will face inevitable revenge for the murder of General Kirillov, RIA Novosti reported.
“Realizing the inevitability of its military defeat, Kiev is starting to strike cowardly and vile blows at peaceful cities“, Reuters quoted him as saying.