A top Russian military officer responsible for radiation, chemical and biological protection forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow, Russia’s investigative committee announced.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a device hidden in an electric scooter detonated outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, about 7 km south-east of the Kremlin. His assistant was also killed in the blast.
The incident occurred a day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov with deploying banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Kyiv Post reported.
Kirillov, who had led Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defence troops (RKhBZ) since 2017, was sanctioned by Britain in October for using riot control agents and the toxic choking agent chloropicrin in Ukraine.
Russian Telegram channels shared photographs showing a debris-strewn building entrance and two bodies lying in the snow.
The RKhBZ, which Kirillov commanded, are specialised forces that operate in radioactive, chemical and biological contamination environments.
Russian news agency Tass reported that investigators and forensic experts were examining the scene alongside other emergency services as part of a criminal investigation into the deaths.
