A senior Russian general was killed in a bomb attack on Tuesday outside his apartment building in Moscow, just a day after Ukraine’s security agency filed criminal charges against him. A Ukrainian official confirmed that the country’s security service orchestrated the operation.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, died as he left for work. His assistant also perished in the blast, which was remotely detonated, according to Russian media. Images from the scene revealed shattered windows and scorched walls of the building.
Kirillov had been sanctioned by multiple countries, including the U.K. and Canada, for his involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) launched a criminal investigation accusing him of overseeing the use of banned chemical weapons.
An unnamed SBU official, speaking anonymously, described Kirillov as a “war criminal and a legitimate target.” The SBU has claimed that Russia has deployed chemical weapons over 4,800 times since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May, the U.S. State Department reported the use of chloropicrin a toxic gas first deployed in World War I against Ukrainian forces.
Russia has denied using chemical weapons in Ukraine, countering with accusations that Kyiv has employed toxic agents in combat. Kirillov, who assumed his position in 2017, frequently made claims at press briefings accusing Ukraine of preparing to use radioactive and toxic substances. These assertions were dismissed by Ukraine and its allies as propaganda.
This incident marks yet another high-profile targeted killing since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Notable past cases include:
- Darya Dugina: A Russian commentator and daughter of Kremlin-linked nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, killed in a car bombing in 2022.
- Vladlen Tatarsky: A military blogger, killed in April 2023 when a statuette he received at an event in St. Petersburg exploded. A Russian woman was later convicted in the case.
- Illia Kiva: A former pro-Moscow Ukrainian lawmaker, shot dead near Moscow in December 2023. Ukrainian military intelligence praised the killing as a warning to other “traitors of Ukraine.”
- Sergei Yevsyukov: The former head of Olenivka Prison in Russian-occupied Donetsk, targeted with an explosive device under his car on Dec. 9. Yevsyukov was linked to the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in a July 2022 missile strike.
These incidents highlight the escalating covert actions and targeted assassinations amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
