A bomb hidden in an electric scooter killed the commander of the nuclear, chemical and biological defense forces. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who just a day earlier was accused by Kiev of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, was killed outside an apartment block southeast of Moscow, along with his assistant.
The remote-controlled bomb reportedly went off as the duo was leaving the building in the early hours of Tuesday. Ukrainian security sources, quoted by international media, have admitted that the general was killed by the security services of Kiev. According to the source, Kirillov was a legitimate target, as well as a war criminal who ordered the use of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military.
Images posted on Telegram show the destroyed entrance of a building and the ruins near the explosion area, writes A2.
"Initially we thought that it could be a matter of throwing cement. But the explosion was so strong that it didn't look like construction work. It was very scary", say the witnesses.
Investigators said they had launched a criminal investigation into the killing of the two officials. According to law enforcement sources cited by Russian media, the case will likely be treated as an act of terrorism. Since the start of the war, Moscow has accused Ukraine of high-profile murders, including that of Daria Dugina, the daughter of nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, who also died in a bomb attack.
Kirillov, who was married with two children, often appeared on state television accusing Kiev of violating nuclear safety protocols. In the past, the general has been sanctioned by Western countries for his role in the Ukrainian war, with Britain held responsible for the use of barbaric weapons on the battlefield, such as the toxic agent chloropicrin.
(A2 Televizion)