Ukraine claims it killed Russian general in Moscow blast

Ukraine has claimed it is behind a bomb attack that killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces in Moscow on Tuesday.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside a block of flats some 7km (4 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.

A source with knowledge of the operation told ITV News’ US partner CNN that Ukraine’s security services were behind Kirillov’s assassination.

“Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical substances against the Ukrainian military,” the source told CNN.

“Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.”

ITV News has been unable to independently verify the claims.

Russia’s investigative committee said a criminal investigation into the deaths is underway, adding that investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene.

“Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the investigative committee added.

The bomb, believed to have been in a scooter, was triggered remotely and had the power equivalent to roughly 300g of TNT, Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Photographs posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a shattered entrance to a building littered with rubble and two bodies lying in the blood-stained snow.

The committee said the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack and a criminal case has been opened.

Ukraine’s Security Services, the SBU, charged Kirillov on December 16 with the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defence troops, known as RKhBZ, are special forces who operate under conditions of radioactive, chemical and biological contamination.