5 days Ago
An explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block in Moscow has killed the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defence forces, investigators said. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant died in the blast, triggered by a device placed in a scooter, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said: “Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene.
“Investigative and search activities are being carried out to establish all the circumstances around this crime.” On Monday, Ukraine’s security service accused Lt Gen Kirillov of using banned chemical weapons during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine which started in February 2022. The SBU said it had recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.
In May, the US State Department said it had recorded the use of chloropicrin, a chemical weapon first used in the First World War, against Ukrainian troops. Lt Gen Kirillov, who was named the head of Russia’s nuclear defence forces in April 2017, was under sanctions from several countries including the UK and Canada for his role in Ukraine. During the almost three-year operation, Russia has added small but steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.
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