Ukraine says it killed senior Russian general in Moscow scooter bombing

Igor Kirillov, who was killed outside a residential building after a device was planted in a scooter, was suspected by Ukraine of ordering the use of banned chemical weapons.

A view of the blast scene, which killed the commander of Russian armed forces' chemical, biological and radiation defence troops Igor Kirillov, and his deputy.

Ukraine said it killed a senior Russian general in a Moscow bombing after a device planted in a scooter exploded early Tuesday, a rare targeted assassination of a high-profile military official in the capital.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops, was killed outside a residential building along with his assistant, Russian law-enforcement authorities said.

Ukrainian officials said the killing was a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Kyiv’s claim but Russian authorities classified his death as an act of terror.

On Monday, the service named Kirillov a suspect in an investigation of war crimes, for allegedly ordering the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.

“By order of Kirillov, more than 4,800 cases of enemy use of chemical weapons have been recorded since the beginning of the full-scale war,” the service said.

Igor Kirillov.

During the almost three-year-long war, Ukraine has been suspected of carrying out assassinations of prominent Russian figures. In 2022, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Kyiv was responsible for the killing of Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent far-right Russian ideologue.

In October, the U.K. sanctioned Kirillov for overseeing the deployment of “barbaric chemical weapons in Ukraine.” The U.K. also said he had been a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation” and had been spreading lies to mask Russia’s behavior.

In 2022, Kirillov claimed that Kyiv could detonate a dirty bomb and blame its actions on Russian aggression — in what analysts said was an effort to rally domestic support for the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine. Kyiv denied any such plans.

On Tuesday, the area around the building where the blast occurred was cordoned off by investigators and security forces were collecting surveillance-camera footage in nearby buildings, Russian authorities said.

Russian officials were taken aback by the news of the blast.

“Shock. Irreparable loss,” Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, wrote on his Telegram channel. “The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy.”