Bomb blast kills Russian chief of nuclear protection forces in Moscow
Igor Kirillov, the commanding general of Russia’s nuclear defense forces, was killed Tuesday in a bomb explosion in Moscow.
An agent of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), speaking to Al Jazeera, claimed responsibility for the attack.
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During the early hours of Tuesday, Kirillov was killed by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement. The attack site was 7km (4 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
The explosive device “had a capacity of approximately three hundred grams equivalent to TNT,” Russian news firm TASS reported, citing a law enforcement official.
Russian media reported that the bomb was remotely operated.
Images from the scene: a scooter with the handlebars torn off and injured in the front along the exterior walls of the building.
Kirillov’s assistant was also killed.
“Two frame bags can be seen on the street,” said Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from near the site of the explosion. “Judging by the damaged windows, the surprise wave reached at least the fourth floor and a dozen apartments were damaged. »
Kirillov, elderly at the time of his death, had been head of radiological, chemical and biological defense troops since April 2017.
Special forces of the Russian army act in areas of radioactive, chemical and biological contamination.
Kirillov married and had two children.
The Russian general was under sanctions from several countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, for his role in the war in Ukraine.
“Igor Kirillov, head of the radiological, chemical and biological coverage forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the Russian Investigative Committee said.
Russia’s investigative committee announced that a criminal case has been opened.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the committee, said in a statement that Moscow considered the attack a “terrorist” attack.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, paid tribute to Kirillov. She said she worked “fearlessly” for “the homeland” to uncover Western crimes similar to chemical weapons and crimes.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said: “Aware of the inevitability of the defeat of its army, [Ukraine] is launching cowardly and despicable measures against non-violent cities. »
SBU appeals claimed responsibility for the murder to several media outlets, but Ukraine has not made any official comment.
A Ukrainian law enforcement official told Politico on condition of anonymity.
“Kirillov is a war thief and an absolutely valid target since he ordered the use of banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian army. Such a shameful end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retaliation for war crimes is inevitable,” the unnamed official told Politico.
On Monday, the SBU accused Kirillov of using banned chemical weapons during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.
In a statement released on Monday, the SBU said Russian forces used other types of banned chemical munitions against Ukraine more than 4,800 times. This included K-1 combat grenades.
Russia has accused Ukraine of orchestrating high-profile wartime assassinations.
Ukraine sometimes denies any involvement in attacks in Russia or Crimea, but its officials celebrate them in social media posts.
In November, senior Russian naval officer Valery Trankovsky was killed in a car bomb attack in Crimea. In this case, a source in the Ukrainian security facility told the French news firm AFP that Ukraine was the attack.
In August 2022, Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian ultranationalist Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bombing. Ukraine denied any role in her killing.
In April 2023, Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack on a café in St. Petersburg. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but blames internal conflicts.
In July 2023, submarine commander Stanislav Rzhitsky, who was accused of war crimes by Ukraine, was shot dead in a Krasnodar park. Again, Kyiv denied a role.