Russian General Igor Kirillov, in charge of nuclear protection forces, killed in scooter bombing near Moscow

Chief of Russia’s nuclear protection forces killed in Moscow explosion

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia‘s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed in a bomb attack on Tuesday near an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow. According to RT News, the bomb, concealed in an electric scooter, also claimed the life of Kirillov’s assistant.

Russian investigators have opened a case into the incident, with forensic experts and operational services working at the scene to determine the circumstances surrounding the crime. Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for Russia’s investigative committee, confirmed that investigative and search activities are ongoing.

BREAKING: Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s chemical and biological defense forces, killed in Moscow blast pic.twitter.com/ENBbMbXACG

— RT (@RT_com) December 17, 2024

The explosive device, believed to have been remotely detonated, contained approximately 300 grams of TNT-equivalent explosive material, according to reports from Russian state news agency Tass. The blast was strong enough to cause fatal injuries at a distance of about 1.55 meters from the device.

Who was Igor Kirillov?

Kirillov, who took charge of Russia’s nuclear protection forces in April 2017, had been previously sanctioned by the UK, Canada, and other countries for his involvement in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. The Ukrainian court sentenced him in absentia on December 16 for his alleged role in using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine during the ongoing conflict that began in February 2022.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported over 4,800 instances of chemical weapons used on the battlefield since the beginning of the war, including the use of K-1 grenades and chloropicrin, a chemical weapon first used in World War I.

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