ReutersA senior Russian general and his aide were killed in an explosion in Moscow.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said a device hidden on the scooter of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, commander of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Corps, exploded as he was leaving a residential area on Tuesday morning.
Photos from the scene show the building’s entrance heavily damaged, with scorch marks on the walls and several windows blown out. Two body bags were also visible on the street.
In October Britain imposed sanctions As for Kirillov, he said he oversaw Ukraine’s use of chemical weapons and served as “an important mouthpiece for the Kremlin’s disinformation.”
On Monday, Ukraine’s secret service, the SBU, charged him in absentia. On Telegram He is “responsible for the large-scale use of banned chemical weapons.”
Russia denies these allegations.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s main investigative agency, said it had “filed a criminal case on charges of murdering two soldiers.”
“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” police said.
“Investigative and operational search activities are underway to determine all circumstances surrounding the crime.”
APUnder British sanctions, Kirillov was subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, with the Foreign Office describing him as a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”.
In May The United States accused Russia of deploying chemical weapons. It has been used as a “method of warfare” in Ukraine, in violation of international law banning its use.
U.S. State Department officials said Russia used the asphyxiant chloropicrin to gain “battlefield gains” against Ukraine.
The Kremlin dismissed the charges at the time, calling them “unfounded.”
