MOSCOW – The head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, was killed along with his deputy in an explosion in Moscow early Tuesday, the Russian Investigative Committee said.
An explosive device hidden in an electric scooter exploded outside a residential building as the two men were leaving the building, Agence France-Presse quoted investigators as saying.
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“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working on site,” committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. “Investigation and search activities are being carried out to clarify all the circumstances surrounding this crime.”
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The committee conducts responsible, large-scale investigations in Russia.
Kirillov was convicted in absentia by a Ukrainian court on December 16 of using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that started in February 2022.
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Ukraine’s security service SBU said it had registered more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.
During the nearly three-year operation, Russia has made small but steady territorial gains in the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.
According to AFP, Kirillov had been in office since 2017.
