A high-ranking basic within the Russian armed forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow.
Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was leaving a residential block early on Tuesday when a tool hidden in a scooter was detonated, Russia’s Investigative Committee stated.
It added that Kirillov’s assistant was additionally killed.
In October, the UK positioned sanctions on Kirillov, saying he had overseen using chemical weapons in Ukraine and acted as a “vital mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”.
On Monday, Ukraine’s secret service, the SBU, charged him in absentia, saying on Telegram he was “accountable for the mass use of banned chemical weapons”.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s fundamental investigative authority, stated it had “opened a prison case into the homicide of two servicemen”.
“Investigators, forensic specialists and operational providers are working on the scene,” it stated.
“Investigative actions and operational search actions are being carried out aimed toward establishing all of the circumstances of the crime.”
