kyiv claims to have killed Igor Kirillov, Russian general responsible for use of chemical weapons in Ukraine

At the scene of the explosion that killed Russian general Igor Kirillov, in Moscow, December 17, 2024. AP

Two bodies lie in the bloody snow on the sidewalk of Ryazan Avenue, in a suburb in eastern Moscow. Their heads point in opposite directions. One towards the black car with the shattered windshield from which they had just come out, the other towards the front door of the building towards which they were heading. A little further away, near the wall, under the debris of glass, bricks and sheet metal, an electric scooter in the battery of which 300 grams of explosives were hidden.

Read also | Live, war in Ukraine: kyiv claims assassination of Igor Kirillov, a senior Russian army official

Read later

The explosion, probably triggered remotely, took place on Tuesday, December 17, around 6 a.m., according to eyewitnesses cited by the Russian Telegram channel Mash. The commander of the Russian radiological, chemical and biological defense forces, Igor Kirillov, dressed in black, and his assistant in military fatigues, were likely killed instantly.

This murder appears to be part of a campaign of dozens of targeted assassinations carried out by Ukrainian secret services on Russian soil against military officials or against Ukrainian officials who have defected. To date, Igor Kirillov, 54, is the highest-ranking Russian military official to be killed outside a combat zone since Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

You have 67.82% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.

Swiss

-

-

PREV Ukraine: air defense forces sent to the front to counter the Russian advance in Donetsk
NEXT Who is Pedro Caixinha, the coach who could take the reins of Grêmio in 2025