One of President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear and biological weapons commanders was killed in an explosion when a bomb hidden in his electric scooter exploded outside his Moscow apartment.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed in an explosion shortly after coming out of his apartment with his assistant, who also died.
The bombing, believed to have been carried out by Ukraine’s strike forces, came a day after Kiev accused Kirillov of overseeing the widespread use of banned chemical weapons against its forces in the conflict zone.
Ukraine’s SBU Security Service has indicted him in absentia for war crimes, saying he was responsible for more than 4,800 documented cases of chemical weapons use by the Russian military since the start of the full-scale war.
Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed the army general’s death, adding that an investigation into the bombing had been launched. Russia has denied allegations of using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Photos posted on Russia’s Telegram channel showed the entrance to a destroyed building strewn with rubble and two bodies lying in blood-soaked snow.
The front door of the house itself was torn off, windows were smashed, and the general’s official car, which arrived to pick him up at 6 a.m., was also damaged.
The bomb was believed to have been hidden in or on a motorized scooter at the scene and could be seen being examined by emergency workers.
Kirillov, who was appointed commander of Russia’s nuclear defense forces in April 2017, has been sanctioned by several countries, including Britain and Canada, for his role in Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov (pictured), 54, was killed in the explosion as he emerged from his apartment with his driver or assistant, who also died.
It turns out that the bomb was hidden inside an electric scooter when it exploded.
Two body bags visible after bomb explodes outside Moscow apartment
The explosion tore through the apartment entrance and damaged the building’s facade.
Footage from the aftermath of the explosion shows a heavily damaged car as emergency workers rush to the scene.
The bomb is believed to have been detonated by remote control, and milbloggers say it produced an explosive force equivalent to about 200 grams of TNT.
Following the explosion at Kirillov’s building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case.
Investigators confirmed the deaths of two men and said they were identifying suspects in the incident. The second man killed was identified only as Elijah P. Justin.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the Ukrainian side, but the deadly explosion came hours after the SBU announced that Kirillov had been charged with using a banned chemical weapon.
Two laboratories affiliated with the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have confirmed that he is accused of masterminding the use of K-1 grenades loaded with the banned irritants CS and CN.
They were deployed by FPV drones and were intended to drive Ukrainian soldiers out of their trenches and fire them directly.
The weapon is said to cause severe irritation to mucous membranes, including the eyes and respiratory tract.
This has resulted in approximately 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers being hospitalized since the Russian invasion began.
“The Security Service has documented war crimes committed by Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces,” the SBU said.
“This official is responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons by Russian extremists against the Armed Forces on Ukraine’s Eastern and Southern Fronts.
“On Kirillov’s orders, more than 4,800 cases of enemy use of chemical weapons have been recorded since the beginning of the all-out war.”
Two bodies can be seen at the scene as bystanders watch on as emergency services work.
Russian police were seen setting up a cordon around the body bag after the explosion.
The front door of the house itself was torn off, windows were smashed, and the general’s official car, which arrived to pick him up at 6 a.m., was also damaged.
The general was killed in a powerful explosion while coming out of an apartment building. Photo: Explosion site
Kirillov had been the head of the Russian military’s radiological, chemical and biological defense forces since 2017.
He participated in the creation and adoption of the TOS-2 Tosochka heavy flamethrower system.
He was also known for promoting conspiracy theories about the West’s use of chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine.
In March 2022, he gave a presentation at the Department of Defense about an alleged American biolab in Ukraine that is developing biological weapons proliferation projects using bats, birds, and even mosquitoes.
Kirillov also accused Ukraine of provocations using toxic chemicals, including “dirty bombs.”
In August, he said, without providing any evidence, that “the fact that toxic chemicals and means of protection against them were supplied at the same time points to an attempt to carry out a large-scale provocation using the psychoactive chemical weapon BZ during the conflict.” It shows,” he said.
Kirillov has been the commander of the Russian military’s radiological, chemical and biological defense forces since 2017.
Kirillov’s death is the latest in a series of recent assassinations of senior Russian scientists and military commanders.
Five days ago, Mikhail Shatsky, a designer at the Mars Design Bureau who was actively working on improving Russia’s Kh-59 cruise missile, was shot dead.
His death followed three days after that of notorious Russian prison torturer and murderer Sergei Yevshukov, 49, who was the warden of Olenivka prison, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were abused. He was killed in the Donetsk car bombing when his Toyota Land Cruiser exploded.
In late November, Russian Navy commander Colonel Valery Trankovsky, 47, was killed in a car bombing in Sevastopol.
A major manhunt has been launched for the bomber believed to have carried out orders from Ukrainian intelligence to kill Kirillov.
Russian law enforcement believes the bomber used radio signals and was within range of the scene when the improvised explosive device detonated.
Surveillance camera footage was being closely examined.
According to reports, a bomb disposal robot was brought to the scene of the explosion.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that Kirillov had “systematically exposed Anglo-Saxon crimes for many years while obtaining the facts.”
These include “NATO provocations with chemical weapons in Syria,” “British manipulation of banned chemicals and provocations in Salisbury and Amesbury,” and even “deadly activities of American biological laboratories in Ukraine.” Included.”
“He worked without fear. He did not hide behind his back. He marched with his visor open. For the Fatherland, for the truth. Bright memories, God rest his soul.”
