Russian general charged with chemical weapons crimes reported dead in Moscow explosion
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, was reportedly killed in an explosion at a residence in Moscow the morning of Dec. 17, according to Russian media.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Dec. 16 sentenced Kirillov in absentia for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Kirillov and another Russian servicemember, reported to be his personal assistant, were killed in an explosion near the entrance to a residential building in Moscow in the early hours of Dec. 17, according to the Russian Telegram news channel Astra.
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on the incident. The committee reported that the explosion was caused by a device planted on a scooter near the entrance to the building.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these reports.
The SBU alleged on Dec. 16 that Kirillov was responsible for "the massive use of banned chemical weapons" against the Ukrainian military.
"On Kirillov's orders, since the beginning of the full-scale war, more than 4,800 cases of enemy use of chemical munitions have been recorded," the SBU claimed.
The U.K. issued sanctions against Kirillov and his unit over the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine on Oct. 8.
Ukraine has previously targeted Russian officials who play a key role in Russia's full-scale invasion.
Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian expert involved in modernizing missiles launched against Ukraine, was shot dead near Moscow on Dec. 12, a Defense Forces source told the Kyiv Independent.
Aleksey Kolomeitsev, a Russian colonel who trained specialists in the use of attack drones, was killed in the city of Kolomna in Moscow Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on Sept. 28.
Boldizsar Gyori
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