Ukrainian special services kill Russian general in Moscow

On Tuesday, December 17, an explosion occurred near the entrance to an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow at about 06:10 a.m. Moscow time. An explosive device was detonated remotely at the moment when Igor Kirillov, the chief of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces left the building and headed towards his car.

The explosion took the lives of the lieutenant general and his assistant.

Click here to see more videos and photos from the crime scene.

The improvised explosive device could have been attached to the handle of an electric scooter to be detonated remotely. A perpetrator parked the electric scooter with a bomb attached to it at about 3 o'clock in the morning.

The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Articles 105 ("Murder"), 205 ("Terrorist act") and 222 ("Illegal arms trafficking") of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. An investigative task force is currently working at the scene.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the crime.

Igor Kirillov was born on July 13, 1970 in the city of Kostroma. In 1991, he graduated from the Kostroma Higher Military Command School of Chemical Defense, and in 2007 — from the Military Academy of Radiation, Chemical and Biological (RCB) Defense named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko.

Kirillov began his service in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany before he was transferred to the Moscow Military District. From 2009 to August 2014, Kirillov held positions in the Directorate of the Chief of the RCB Defense Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. From September 2014 to August 2017 he served as the head of his alma mater — the Military Academy named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko.

In April 2017, Igor Kirillov was appointed to the post of the chief of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces. He participated in the creation and adoption of new heavy flamethrower system TOS-2 Tosochka, prototypes of which began to arrive in the Russian troops in 2020.

Kirillov accused USA of spreading highly pathogenic viruses

Lieutenant General Kirillov was known for his statements about the activities of foreign biolabs and their possible connection with the spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Kirillov repeatedly claimed that the United States was expanding the network of foreign biolabs while conducting research with highly pathogenic viruses and bacteria.

In January 2024, Kirillov said that senior US officials had deliberately obstructed the investigation into the causes of the COVID-19 pandemic and manipulated public opinion. He repeatedly accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons during combat operations.

In October 2024, Kirillov said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine used Western-made chemical weapons in the city of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region.

Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Kirillov was awarded Orders For Merit to the Fatherland of the 3rd and 4th degrees, the Order For Military Merit, and the Medal of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland of the 2nd degree. Kirillov was a candidate of military sciences.

Kirillov edited the book "100 Years of the Troops of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" which was published in 2018.

The lieutenant general is survived by two sons and a wife.