A top Russian general accused of using chemical weapons on the battlefields in Ukraine was killed after a bomb went off in Moscow early Tuesday, Russian investigators said, in an attack swiftly claimed by Kyiv.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a remotely detonated bomb planted in an electric scooter outside an apartment building some 7 kilometers (4 miles) southeast of the Kremlin, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The blast came a day after Ukrainian prosecutors sentenced Kirillov in absentia for Russia’s use of banned chemical weapons during its invasion. A source with knowledge of the operation later told CNN that Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, was behind the attack.
“Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical substances against the Ukrainian military,” the source told CNN. “Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.”
Kirillov, who was 54, is the most senior military official known to be killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. His assistant, named in Russian media as Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed in the blast on Ryazansky Street.
A video – obtained by CNN from a source with knowledge of the operation – showed the moments before the two men were killed in the explosion. The outline of what appears to be a scooter can be seen to the right of the door of the residential building. As the two men step outside and walk towards a car, the bomb detonates and the screen flashes white.
The bomb packed explosive power amounting to some 300 grams of TNT, Russian state news agency TASS reported. A CNN team on the ground later saw blast marks at the entrance to a residential building, cordoned off by investigators.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the attack, calling it a “terrorist act.
Credit: CNN