Explosion kills Russian general sanctioned for chemical weapons use in Ukraine

The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, was killed early Tuesday in an explosion set off by a device planted at an apartment block in Moscow, Russian officials said.

Kirillov’s assistant, who was not identified by name, was also killed in the blast, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement published on Telegram on Tuesday.

It said the explosive device had been detonated in a scooter parked next to the entrance of a residential building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow.

Investigators, forensic workers and emergency services were still working at the scene late Tuesday morning.

Ukraine’s Security Services on Monday had charged Kirillov with the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s invasion of the country, which began in Feb. 2022.

In October, Britain sanctioned Kirillov and the nuclear protection forces for the use of riot control agents and reports of the use of chloropicrin, a chemical choking agent, on the battlefield.

In a statement at the time, the British government said Kirillov was “responsible for helping deploy these barbaric weapons” and had also been “a significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation, spreading lies to mask Russia’s shameful and dangerous behavior.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova sought to defend Kirillov’s record, saying he had been “systematically exposing the crimes of the Anglo-Saxons for many years.”

“He worked fearlessly. He did not hide behind people’s backs,” Zakharova said in a statement published to Telegram on Tuesday. “He met problems head on. For the Motherland, for the truth. Bright be his memory, may he rest in peace.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.