Ukraine was behind the assassination of the head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defense forces in a bomb explosion in Moscow early Tuesday, a person familiar with the operation said.
Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, carried out the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. The SBU’s press office declined to comment.
The two servicemen died when an explosive device planted on a scooter detonated near the entrance to an apartment building, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement. The committee said investigators had opened a criminal case for murder.
The case is a rare example of the targeted assassination of a top military official since Russia began its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It came a day after the SBU had accused Kirillov of ordering the “massive use” of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops in the country’s east and south, saying there had been more than 4,800 cases in a statement on its Telegram channel.
The killing of a such a high-ranking officer in the Russian capital is an embarrassment for the Kremlin and adds to spiraling tensions over the war as Moscow and Kyiv position for the possibility of negotiations when US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month.
Trump told reporters Monday that Ukraine should be ready to reach a deal to end the war and appeared to downplay the value of regaining occupied territory.
Kirillov was known to the Russian public from his regular briefings at the Defense Ministry. The general was sanctioned by the UK in October for the use of chemical weapons. The UK also accused Kirillov of “spreading lies to mask Russia’s shameful and dangerous behaviour.”
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, threatened “certain punishment” for Ukraine’s “top military and political leaders” in retaliation for the killing, according to the state-run Tass news service.

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