Ukrainian intelligence sources have claimed responsibility for the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, a senior Russian officer overseeing nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces. Kirillov was killed in Moscow by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter, which detonated outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt. The explosion also claimed the life of his assistant.
The Ukrainian security services referred to Kirillov as a “completely legitimate target,” given his role in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The Russian military official had been involved in multiple controversial activities, including the alleged use of banned chemical weapons, for which he had been charged by Ukrainian prosecutors just the day before his death. Kirillov was sanctioned by the UK in October for his battlefield actions.
Images shared on Russian Telegram channels depicted the aftermath of the explosion, with shattered building entrances and bodies lying in the snow.