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WORLD Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov,54 years and his assistant were killed on Tuesday morning, December 17, when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter exploded outside a residential building in Moscow. Girish Linganna Updated : Dec 20, 2024, 07:53 PM IST A Russian general responsible for the military's nuclear, chemical, and biological defense was killed by a bomb that was hidden in an electric scooter. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov,54 years and his assistant were killed on Tuesday morning, December 17, when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter exploded outside a residential building in Moscow. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case related to the murder of the Army General and his aide. The Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported on the incident, noting that it happened in an apartment building located just 4 miles (7 kilometers) from the Kremlin. Emergency response services told the Russian state news agency TASS that it appears the explosive device was remotely triggered, suggesting that the attack was carefully planned and targeted. The TASS report also states that the explosion had a power equivalent to about 300 grams of TNT. Several important officials from the Moscow department of the Russian Interior Ministry are at the scene of the incident, along with investigators, medical staff, and emergency responders. Ukraine Imposed Sanctions on Lieutenant General Just a Day Earlier It’s worth noting that just a day before his death, Ukrainian prosecutors charged Igor Kirillov in absentia, ( in his absence) for ordering the use of chemical weapons against Kyiv forces. The term "in absentia" refers to Igor Kirillov's absence, meaning he was not present in court when the charges were filed against him. Kirillov was charged by the Security Service of Ukraine for instructing Russian troops to use banned chemical weapons on the eastern and southern fronts. Ukrainian prosecutors claimed that under the orders of Lieutenant General Kirillov, Russian troops used chemical weapons 4,800 times since the war began. These are the documented cases of chemical weapon use linked to his commands. Some of the chemical weapons used by Russian troops under his orders include the K-1 combat grenade and the choking agent chloropicrin, among others. These attacks caused many Ukrainian soldiers to suffer from chemical poisoning to varying degrees. The timing of Kirillov's death suggests there might be a larger plan behind the attack, but more information is still needed. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) didn't identify the suspect, but mentioned he was born in 1995. The FSB stated that the suspect claimed he was recruited by Ukrainian special services. The Associated Press cannot verify the circumstances under which the suspect spoke to the security services. The FSB also reported that the suspect was promised a reward of $100,000 and the chance to move to a European Union country in return for killing Kirillov. The agency reported that, following instructions from Ukraine, the suspect went to Moscow to pick up a homemade explosive device. He attached the device to an electric scooter and parked it outside the building where Kirillov lived. After that, the suspect rented a car to keep watch on the area and set up a camera to livestream the scene to his contacts in Dnipro, Ukraine. When Kirillov left the building, the suspect detonated the bomb. According to the FSB, the suspect could face a life sentence. The suspect was arrested in a village in the Moscow region, according to Irina Volk from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as reported by the Russian state news agency TASS. It's important to note that the Russian Army official was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in October 2024 for permitting and ordering the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. In October, the UK also accused Kirillov of being a major source of Kremlin misinformation, spreading falsehoods to cover up Russia's disgraceful and dangerous actions. None
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