Russian general accused by Ukraine of masterminding chemical weapons attack killed in remote bombing
A Russian general was killed on Tuesday by a bomb hidden on a scooter outside his Moscow apartment building, a day after Ukrainian security forces charged him with crimes.
A Ukrainian official said that the country’s security forces were responsible for the attack. Lt.-Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed on his way to his office.
Kirillov’s aide was also killed in the blast, which was launched remotely, according to Russian news reports. Photos from the scene showed broken windows and charred and blackened bricks.
Kirillov has been under sanctions from several countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, for his actions in Moscow’s war in Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, opened a criminal investigation against him, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.
An SBU official told The Associated Press that they were responsible for the attack. A similar claim was made by an SBU official to the Reuters news agency.
The SBU said it has recorded more than 4,800 instances of Russia’s use of chemical weapons on the battlefield since the all-out attack in February 2022. In May, the US State Department said in a statement it had recorded the use of chloropicrin, a poison. gas that was first used in World War I, against Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia has denied using any chemical weapons in Ukraine and, in turn, has accused Kyiv of using toxic agents in the war.
Russia’s Medvedev vowed swift revenge
Kirillov, who took up his current job in 2017, was one of the most senior figures to weigh in on those allegations. He has held numerous forums accusing the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning a radioactive attack – claims Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss as propaganda.
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian leadership would take revenge for the killing, RIA news agency reported, accusing Ukraine of “cowardly and despicable strikes.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, several prominent people have been killed in targeted attacks.
Russia’s central bank predicts it will raise benchmark interest rates to 23 percent this month, and military spending accounts for a third of Russia’s overall budget. Andrew Chang explains how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine is causing inflation to skyrocket and what that means for people.
Daria Dugina, a commentator for Russian TV channels and the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a former nationalist activist with ties to the Kremlin, died in a 2022 car bombing that investigators suspect was targeted at her father.
Vladlen Tatarsky, a famous military blogger, died in St. Petersburg in April 2023, when a statue given to him at a party exploded. A Russian woman, who said she presented the image with a contact order in Ukraine, was convicted and sentenced to 27 years.
In December 2023, Illia Kiva, a former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawyer who fled to Russia, was shot dead near Moscow. Ukraine’s military intelligence service recommended the execution, warning that other “Ukrainian traitors” would meet the same fate.
On the battlefield, RIA reported that Russian troops have taken over the settlement of Hannivka in eastern Ukraine. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday it had shot down 20 aircraft launched in Russia.
According to the Telegraph messenger, Russia launched a total of 31 drones and 10 others did not reach their targets. One was still in the air.
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