Russian authorities announced on Wednesday the detention of a 29-year-old Uzbek man in connection with the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a senior Russian military official, and his assistant. The attack occurred in Moscow, reportedly carried out using a bomb planted in an electric scooter.
Kirillov, who led Russia’s radiological, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed outside his apartment building by a remotely detonated explosive device. The incident happened just one day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov in absentia for the alleged use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian security service (SBU) sources have been linked to the attack.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the detained suspect was recruited by the SBU and promised $100,000 and relocation to a European country in exchange for carrying out the assassination.
“The detainee received a homemade explosive device, placed it on an electric scooter, and parked it at the entrance to Lt. Gen. Kirillov’s residential building,” the committee said.
The suspect reportedly rented a car equipped with a surveillance camera to monitor Kirillov’s residence. Russian investigators allege that the organizers, located in Ukraine’s eastern city of Dnipro, remotely detonated the bomb upon seeing Kirillov and his assistant leave the building early Tuesday morning.
At 54 years old, Kirillov was the highest-ranking military officer known to be killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. His death occurred just 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the Kremlin and marked the fourth assassination of key Russian military figures on domestic soil within two months.
Russian state media identified the suspect as Akhmad Kurbanov and released a video, reportedly filmed by the FSB, showing him confessing to planting the bomb. It remains unclear whether the confession was made under duress.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned the assassination, stating it demonstrated Ukraine’s willingness to employ “terrorist methods.”
A source within Ukraine’s SBU told CNN that Kirillov was “a war criminal and an entirely legitimate target” due to his alleged role in ordering the use of banned chemical substances against Ukrainian forces. The SBU further claimed that Russia, under Kirillov’s directives, deployed over 4,800 chemical munitions since the conflict began.
This assassination underscores the ongoing escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with high-profile targets increasingly coming under attack.
