With Kirillov, Russia loses a high strategic officer but also a controversial symbol of its military and propaganda policy.
The death of General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, undoubtedly represents one of the most significant blows to the Russian military leadership since the start of the war in Ukraine. Kirillov, 54, was the victim of a dawn attack, when an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter was activated near his home south-east of Moscow. The attack, which also involved his deputy, was claimed by the Ukrainian security services (SBU), who defined him as a “legitimate target” for the war crimes attributed to his division.
KIRILLOV’S CAREER
Born in Kostroma in 1970, Kirillov graduated in 1991 from the Higher School of the Military Chemical Defense Command in his hometown and subsequently, in 2007, from the Military Academy of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense. After starting his military career in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, he held positions in the Moscow Military District. Since 2017, he had led Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, known as the Rkhbz. Among his achievements, Kirillov contributed to the development of the TOS-2 “Tosochka” heavy flamethrower system, distributed to Russian troops starting in 2020.
THE FIGURE OF KIRILLOV AMONG ACCUSATIONS AND CONTROVERSIES
Kirillov’s figure has been at the center of heavy international accusations. The United Kingdom and the United States had sanctioned him for the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. In particular, Kirillov was accused of having authorized the use of the toxic agent chloropicrin, a suffocating substance already used in the First World War.
According to the UK, Kirillov was also a major promoter of Russian disinformation, claiming that Kiev and the West operated secret biological laboratories for the development of chemical weapons. Similar accusations related to Ukraine’s alleged development of a “dirty bomb,” claims that were not supported by independent organizations.
THE METHODS OF THE ATTACK
The attack on Kirillov, which occurred with over a kilogram of TNT explosive, was preceded by Ukraine’s indictment of the general for the use of prohibited chemical weapons. According to the SBU, Russia has used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times since the beginning of the conflict, a charge that Moscow has always rejected. With his death, Russia loses a senior strategic officer but also a controversial symbol of its military and propaganda policy.
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