Russia detains Uzbek man over general’s killing in Moscow
Russian authorities have announced the arrest of a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan in connection with the killing of senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow.
According to the authorities, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces, was outside a residential building early Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter was remotely detonated.
Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK) stated that the unnamed suspect has confessed to being recruited by Ukrainian special services. However, the SK provided no supporting evidence for this claim.
A Ukrainian security service source (SBU) had already claimed responsibility for the killing, according to a report from the BBC on Tuesday. The source described Kirillov, 54, as “a legitimate target” and accused him of committing war crimes.
Just a day before the killing, Ukraine had charged the Russian general in absentia, accusing him of “responsibility for the mass use of banned chemical weapons,” which Moscow denies.
A Kremlin spokesman conveyed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “expresses deep condolences” over Kirillov’s death, as reported by Russian state news agency Tass.
In a statement on Wednesday, the SK revealed that the detained man, born in 1995, is a citizen of Uzbekistan and is “suspected of committing a terrorist act.” The SK added that during questioning, he explained that he had been recruited by Ukrainian special services.
The explosive device had been placed on the scooter parked near the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lived, the SK said.
To monitor the location, the suspect had rented a car, where he installed a video camera that was livestreaming to the attack organisers in Ukraine’s city of Dnipro, the investigative committee added.
When Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov left the building, the explosive device was remotely activated, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB) published a video of the suspect’s interrogation.
In the footage, a dark-haired man wearing handcuffs with what appears to be a visible rip in his coat is seen speaking directly to the camera.
He is heard saying in Russian that he had been offered a reward of $100,000 and a European passport in exchange for killing Kirillov.
The FSB added that on Ukraine’s instructions, he arrived in Moscow and received a homemade explosive device.
It is unclear whether the suspect’s confession was made under duress.
Kirillov is thought to be the most senior military figure assassinated inside Russia since President Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As well as being charged by Ukraine, Kirillov had previously been sanctioned by the UK over the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s SBU security service has claimed Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times under the general’s leadership.
Moscow denies this and says it destroyed the last remainder of its vast chemical weapons stockpile in 2017.
Pictures from the scene outside Kirillov’s apartment block in south-eastern Moscow on Tuesday showed the badly damaged entrance, with scorch marks on the walls and a number of windows blown out. Two body bags could also be seen on the street.
Also on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would raise Kirillov’s assassination at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
Russian officials have vowed to find and punish those involved in the killing.
