Russian General Killed in Moscow Bombing, Ukraine Claims Responsibility
A senior Russian general, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, was killed in a bomb attack outside his apartment building in Moscow, with Ukraine's security service claiming responsibility for the act ¹. Kirillov, 54, was the chief of the Russian military's radiation, chemical, and biological protection unit.
The bombing occurred on Tuesday, just a day after Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, opened a criminal investigation against Kirillov, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons ¹. An SBU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Kirillov as a "war criminal and an entirely legitimate target."
Kirillov's assistant also died in the attack, which was carried out using a bomb hidden in a scooter outside Kirillov's apartment building ¹. The bomb was triggered remotely, and images from the scene showed shattered windows and scorched brickwork.
Russia has denied using any chemical weapons in Ukraine, and instead, has accused Kyiv of using toxic agents in combat ¹. Kirillov had been one of the most high-profile figures to level these accusations, holding numerous briefings to accuse the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning to launch attacks with radioactive substances.
The SBU has said it recorded more than 4,800 occasions when Russia used chemical weapons on the battlefield since its full-scale invasion in February 2022 ¹. In May, the U.S. State Department said that it had recorded the use of chloropicrin, a poison gas first deployed in World War I, against Ukrainian troops.
Russia's top state investigative agency said it's looking into Kirillov's death as a case of terrorism, and officials in Moscow vowed to punish Ukraine ¹. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, described the attack as an attempt by Kyiv to distract public attention from its military failures and vowed that its "senior military-political leadership will face inevitable retribution."
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, several prominent figures have been killed in targeted attacks believed to have been carried out by Ukraine ¹. These include Darya Dugina, a commentator on Russian TV channels and the daughter of Kremlin-linked nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, who died in a 2022 car bombing.
Other targeted attacks include the killing of Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular military blogger, who died in April 2023 when a statuette given to him at a party in St. Petersburg exploded ¹. In December 2023, Illia Kiva, a former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawmaker who fled to Russia, was shot and killed near Moscow.
The international community has been quick to react to the news of Kirillov's killing ². The U.S. State Department has denied any involvement in the attack, with spokesman Matthew Miller telling reporters that the U.S. "was not aware of it in advance and was not involved."
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has also commented on the attack, saying that it would be understandable for Ukraine to "do everything in their power to hit back" ².
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