An investigation is ongoing following the deaths of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection Unit of the Russian Armed Forces, and his deputy, when a bomb placed on an electric scooter at the entrance to a building detonated in Moscow yesterday. In a statement from the Russian Investigative Committee, it was reported that a 29-year-old Uzbekistan citizen was detained on the grounds that he carried out the assassination. In his statement, the perpetrator said that he came to Moscow on the orders of the Ukrainian secret service and purchased a homemade explosive. The suspect, who stated that he placed the explosive on the electric scooter at the entrance to the building where Lieutenant General Kirillov lives, stated that he rented a vehicle and installed a camera in the vehicle to monitor the lieutenant general. It was reported that the suspect shared the camera footage with his instigators in the Ukrainian city of Dnieper, and that the bomb was remotely detonated as the lieutenant general and his deputy were leaving the building. It was noted that the suspect was promised $100,000 and residence in a European country in exchange for the assassination. It was emphasized that work is continuing to identify the other organizers of the attack.
Ukraine had claimed responsibility for the attack
A source from the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) stated to the British news agency Reuters that Ukraine was behind the attack, saying, “The elimination of the head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection Unit of the Russian Armed Forces is the job of the SBU.” He
was charged with chemical weapons
On the other hand, 54-year-old Lieutenant General Kirillov was charged in absentia by Ukrainian prosecutors on December 16 for allegedly using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine. Kirillov, who was killed a day after the charge, became the most senior Russian military official to be assassinated by Ukraine on Russian soil.