Ukraine Kills Russian General Igor Kirillov

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the assassination of Russian military general Igor Kirillov on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

Igor Kirillov was killed outside his apartment in Moscow on Tuesday after a bomb hidden in a scooter close to his home exploded.

Kirillov’s assistant was also killed in the attack, which has caused panic among residents of the Eastern European country’s capital.

Russian news outlets say the bomb was triggered remotely as images showed shattered windows and scorched brickwork.

Before his death, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was Russia’s military chief of nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces.

Related: Putin Says It Is Impossible For Ukraine To Defeat Russia

Ukraine’s security service had levelled criminal charges against Kirillov a day before his assassination.

The 54-year-old is one of President Vladimir Putin’s high-profile men in the war against Ukraine and was under sanctions from several countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, before his death.

Kirillov had been accused of deploying banned chemical weapons by the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU.

The SBU says it has recorded over 4,800 deployments of chemical weapons, particularly K-1 combat grenades, since February 2022.

Recall that in May 2024, the U.S. State Department accused Russia of using a poisoned gas known as chloropicrin in the war against Ukraine. Chloropicrin was first used during World War 1.

Russia denied the accusations and said that Ukraine was using toxic agents to fight the war.

President Vladimir Putin is yet to make a statement about the killing of one of his trusted generals, but Russia’s top investigative agency has revealed that it is investigating the case as one of terrorism as officials in Moscow have vowed to punish Ukraine.