Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical defense forces, was killed in a massive bomb explosion in Moscow on Tuesday.
Ukrainian security officials have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, labeling Kirillov a “legitimate target” for his alleged role in the use of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.
This act marks the most high-profile assassination of a Russian military official that took place outside of the battlefield.
The assassination was carried out using a bomb installed in a scooter near a residential building in Moscow, according to a New York Times report.
The general, Igor Kirillov, 54, died along with an aide after an explosive device planted in a scooter was detonated on Tuesday morning near the entryway to a residential building, Russia’s Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, said in a statement.
An official with Ukraine’s security service, known as the S.B.U., said that Ukraine was responsible for the act. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive intelligence operation, confirmed the details of the assassination given by Russia.
The bombing came the day after Ukrainian Security Services charged the general with various crimes, including the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield.
The explosive device was so powerful it shattered windows as high as the third floor while also damaging a building across the street, according to The New York Times.
Ukraine’s security service claimed it “has recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons during Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” Fox News reported.
Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev condemned the general’s killing, accusing the Ukrainian government of trying to “drag out the war and killing” in the region. He said there will be “inevitable retaliation” for Kirillov’s killing.
Ukraine has claimed that Russia has employed chemical weapons, including irritant chemical agents CS and CN. Both of these weapons have been banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The State Department previously issued sanctions on Kirillov’s unit for using chloropicrin, which is a choking agent that was used in World War I.
The United Kingdom also sanctioned Kirillov in October for using chemical weapons as well.
The general has been instrumental in Russia’s propaganda efforts, having appeared on many media outlets to promote the Kremlin’s position on the war in Ukraine.
Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko noted that Moscow “is treating the explosion as a terrorist attack.”
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