MOSCOW: Russia has arrested a 29-year-old Uzbek man in connection with the murder of Russian General Igor Kirillov and his aide in Moscow.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out the assassination.
On December 17, 2024, Kirillov, head of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was targeted by an explosive device placed on an electric scooter outside a residential building in Moscow. The device was detonated remotely while Kirillov was outside.
The explosion led to the death of Kirillov and his assistant.
The FSB said the suspect, who was not named, was recruited by Ukraine’s special services and given instructions to carry out the attack.
The suspect reportedly received a $100,000 reward and was promised the chance to settle in the European Union in exchange for his assassination. He allegedly received a homemade explosive device in Moscow which he placed on the scooter parked near Kirillov’s residence.
The FSB also said the suspect monitored Kirillov’s movements using a rental car equipped with a camera that transmitted live footage to Ukrainian agents in Dnipro. Once Kirillov exited the building, the suspect detonated the bomb remotely.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) previously claimed responsibility for the attack. According to a source interviewed by the BBC, Ukraine considered Kirillov a “legitimate target” due to his alleged involvement in war crimes.
The day before his death, Ukraine accused Kirillov in absentia of “massive use of banned chemical weapons” during Ukraine’s ongoing conflict. Russia has consistently denied the allegations, saying it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile in 2017.
Kirillov, 54, had previously been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for his alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials accuse him of overseeing the use of chemical weapons more than 4,800 times during of his mandate.
After the assassination, images from the scene in Moscow showed the entrance to the building damaged, with burn marks on the walls and windows blown out. Two body bags were seen in the street.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced its intention to raise the assassination of General Kirillov at the United Nations Security Council on December 20. Russian officials have pledged to identify and punish those responsible for the assassination.
