High-Ranking Russian General Killed in Moscow... "Ukraine Special Operation"

A bomb exploded in downtown Moscow, Russia, resulting in the death of the commander of the Russian military's chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) special forces. The deceased commander was accused of using banned chemical weapons during the war in Ukraine. The explosion is reported to be a special operation carried out by Ukrainian forces.

AP Yonhap News

According to AFP and other sources, Major General Igor Kirillov, who oversees the Russian military's CBRN weapons, died on the morning of the 17th (local time) when an explosive device attached to a scooter (kickboard) near the entrance of an apartment on Ryazansky Avenue in southeastern Moscow detonated. His aide, Ilya Polikarpov, also died alongside Major General Kirillov. The explosion occurred approximately 7 km from the Kremlin.

Kirillov, aged 54 this year, was the highest-ranking Russian military official to die in an explosion in Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He had been in charge of the Russian military's CBRN defense units since 2017.

The Russian Federal Investigative Committee has classified the incident as terrorism and launched an investigation. Local media reported that the explosion shattered windows from the 1st to the 4th floors of the building and damaged several nearby vehicles. The investigative committee stated that the explosive device, with a power equivalent to 300 grams of TNT, was remotely detonated, and they are collecting surveillance footage from the area to track down the perpetrator. TASS news agency reported that the explosive device's power was equivalent to 1 kilogram of TNT.

Foreign media, including AFP, citing sources within the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), reported that the explosion was a "special operation by the SBU." However, the Ukrainian government has not yet issued an official comment. The day before, the SBU had indicted Major General Kirillov in a Ukrainian court on charges of using banned chemical weapons during the war in Ukraine. Relatedly, Kirillov was also sanctioned by the United Kingdom last October. At that time, the UK claimed that Kirillov deployed chemical weapons during the invasion of Ukraine and acted as a spokesperson disseminating Kremlin disinformation.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and the second-in-command in Vladimir Putin's regime, also pointed to the Ukrainian military and political leadership as being behind the attack and warned of retaliation. Medvedev said, "(Ukraine) is trying to prolong the war and death," and added, "The assassin must be found." Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, stated on his Telegram account that the incident was an "irreparable loss" and that "the murderers will undoubtedly be mercilessly punished."

Since the invasion of Ukraine, several pro-government figures and military personnel in Russia have been assassinated, including Darya Dugina, daughter of an ultranationalist thinker; military blogger Bradlan Tatarsky; and Stanislav Rezhitsky, a submarine captain of the Black Sea Fleet.