Uzbek National Detained in Moscow General’s Killing

Russian authorities have announced the detention of a 29-year-old Uzbek national in connection with the fatal attack on senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow. According to official statements, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who led the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was targeted early on Tuesday outside a residential building. An explosive device concealed within an electric scooter was remotely detonated at that time. The Russian Investigative Committee (SK) stated that the unnamed suspect confessed to being recruited by Ukrainian special services. The SK did not offer supporting evidence for this assertion. A source informed the BBC on Tuesday that Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, had previously taken responsibility for the assassination. The Ukrainian source described Kirillov, aged 54, as “a legitimate target” and accused him of committing war crimes. The day prior to the killing, on Monday, Ukraine had charged the Russian general in absentia, asserting that he was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons”. Moscow refutes these allegations. Tass, the Russian state-run news agency, reported that a Kremlin spokesman conveyed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “deep condolences” regarding Kirillov’s demise. The SK issued a statement on Wednesday, identifying the detained individual, born in 1995, as an Uzbek citizen. The committee stated he is “suspected of committing a terrorist act” and that during questioning, “he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services”. The SK indicated that the explosive device had been positioned on the scooter, which was parked close to the entrance of Kirillov’s residential building. The investigative committee further detailed that the suspect rented a vehicle to monitor the site, equipping it with a video camera that streamed live footage to the attack’s organizers in Dnipro, Ukraine. The statement specified that the explosive device was remotely activated as Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, exited the premises. Concurrently, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) released a video showing the suspect’s interrogation. The video depicts a dark-haired man in handcuffs, with what appears to be a tear in his coat, addressing the camera directly. In the recording, he is heard stating in Russian that he was promised a reward of $100,000 and a European passport for Kirillov’s assassination. The FSB also stated that he traveled to Moscow under instructions from Ukraine and was provided with a homemade explosive device. The circumstances surrounding whether the suspect’s confession was coerced remain unclear. Kirillov is considered the highest-ranking military official to be assassinated within Russia since President Putin initiated the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Beyond the charges brought by Ukraine, Kirillov had also been sanctioned by the UK concerning the alleged deployment of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Ukraine’s SBU security service has asserted that Russia employed chemical weapons over 4,800 times during the general’s command. Moscow denies these claims, stating it eliminated the final remnants of its extensive chemical weapons stockpile in 2017. Images from the site outside Kirillov’s apartment building in south-eastern Moscow on Tuesday depicted a severely damaged entrance, with scorch marks on the walls and several shattered windows. Two body bags were also visible on the street. Furthermore, on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia intends to address Kirillov’s assassination at the United Nations Security Council meeting scheduled for Friday. Russian officials have pledged to identify and prosecute all individuals implicated in the killing.