A Ukrainian official has taken credit for the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the commander of Russia’s chemical, biological and radiation defense forces, and his assistant, who were killed in an explosion in Moscow on Tuesday.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said the explosive device was placed on a scooter near a residential apartment block on Ryazansky Avenue and triggered remotely, according to The Associated Press. The bombing came one day after Ukrainian Security Services charged Kirillov with crimes.
The bomb had the power of roughly 300 grams of TNT, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
Fox News Digital has confirmed that the Ukrainian Security Services, or SBU, claims credit for the killing. An SBU official who spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Kirillov was a “war criminal and an entirely legitimate target.”
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High-ranking Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed in an explosion near a residential complex in Moscow, officials said. (The Associated Press)
“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. “Investigative and search activities are being carried out to establish all the circumstances around this crime.”
Petrenko also said Russia is treating the explosion as a terrorist attack.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters the Department of Defense was not aware of the operation in advance.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was charged criminally by Ukraine’s Security Services just a day before he was killed in an explosion in Moscow. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“We do not support or enable those kinds of activities,” Ryder said, adding he had no other information to provide other than what he had seen in the press.
Kirillov was charged by the SBU on Monday with using banned chemical weapons on the battlefield. Several countries had also placed him under sanctions for his role in the war against Ukraine, The AP reported.
The deadly blast took place outside a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)
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The SBU said it has recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons during Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which began in Feb. 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been updated to identify Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov as the commander of Russia’s chemical, biological and radiation defense forces.