Russian authorities Wednesday (Dec 18) detained a Uzbek citizen for allegedly setting up a bomb that killed Russian general Igor Kirillov and one of his close aides. Kirillov, who was the head of Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb that was planted inside an electric scooter outside his apartment building. Russian state media Tass reported that the bomb contained the equivalent of 300g of high explosive.
He was accused by Kyiv of using banned chemical weapons on Ukrainian soil. Just a day prior to his death, Ukrainian prosecutors had sentenced Kirillov in absentia for alleged war crimes. The official complaint read that Kirillov was “using dangerous chemicals mainly in the hottest areas of combat, where they [Russia] are trying to hide the use of chemical agents under dense artillery fire”.
The Russian Investigative Committee currently probing the death of the top general said the suspect was allegedly hired by Ukraine’s special services and was sent to Russia to carry out the assassination. “The detainee received a homemade explosive device and placed it on an electric scooter which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Igor Kirillov lived,” said the committee on its Telegram channel.
It added that the suspect took a car and fitted it with a surveillance camera to monitor Kirillov’s movements. “The footage from this camera was broadcast online to the organizers of the terrorist attack in the city of Dnipro. After a video signal was received about the soldiers leaving the entrance, the explosive device was remotely activated by them,” the committee said, adding that “other persons involved in organizing this crime are being identified.”
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According to reports, the Uzbek citizen, whose identity has not been revealed yet, was given a monetary remuneration of $100,000 for the assassination along with residence in an unspecified European nation. Russia has vowed to avenge Kirillov’s death “without a doubt and without mercy.”
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