The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, was killed early Tuesday in an explosion set off by a tool planted at an condo block in Moscow, Russian officers mentioned.
Kirillov’s assistant, who was not recognized by identify, was additionally killed within the blast, Russia’s Investigative Committee mentioned in an announcement printed on Telegram on Tuesday.
It mentioned the explosive gadget had been detonated in a scooter parked subsequent to the doorway of a residential constructing on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow.
Investigators, forensic employees and emergency companies have been nonetheless working on the scene late Tuesday morning.
Ukraine’s Security Services on Monday had charged Kirillov with using banned chemical weapons throughout Russia’s invasion of the nation, which started in Feb. 2022.
In October, Britain sanctioned Kirillov and the nuclear safety forces for using riot management brokers and reviews of using chloropicrin, a chemical choking agent, on the battlefield.
In an announcement on the time, the British authorities mentioned Kirillov was “accountable for serving to deploy these barbaric weapons” and had additionally been “a major mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation, spreading lies to masks Russia’s shameful and harmful conduct.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova sought to defend Kirillov’s document, saying he had been “systematically exposing the crimes of the Anglo-Saxons for a few years.”
“He labored fearlessly. He didn’t disguise behind folks’s backs,” Zakharova mentioned in an announcement printed to Telegram on Tuesday. “He met issues head on. For the Motherland, for the reality. Bright be his reminiscence, might he relaxation in peace.”
This is a creating story. Please test again for updates.
John Joe Regan and The Associated Press contributed.