In Moscow, Russian General Igor Kirillov, commander of the military unit responsible for nuclear, biological, and chemical defense, was killed on December 17, 2024, when a bomb hidden on a scooter exploded near his home. His aide also died in the blast.
The explosion occurred early Tuesday morning near Ryazansky Prospekt, a key route into and out of central Moscow. The investigation is being conducted by the National Investigation Committee, an independent body directly linked to President Vladimir Putin.
A spokesperson for the Investigation Committee stated that the explosion is being treated as a terrorist attack, and teams are investigating the incident from multiple angles.
According to international news agencies citing Ukrainian security sources, the assassination was planned by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). An official from the SBU confirmed to the German news portal Spiegel that the bombing was a special operation targeting Kirillov, who was seen as a war criminal.
Kirillov, aged 54, was listed in international sanctions and was being tried in absentia in Ukraine for allegedly using chemical weapons. Reports indicate that the SBU has documented at least 4,800 instances of chemical weapon attacks since the beginning of the Russian invasion, resulting in casualties among Ukrainian soldiers.
The UK government had sanctioned Kirillov in October for assisting in the deployment of chemical weapons, a claim that Moscow has denied. Both the UK and the US have accused Russia of violating the Chemical Weapons Convention by using toxic substances against Ukrainian forces.
This incident marks the highest-profile assassination of a Russian military official in Moscow since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine.