The head of the Russian military’s chemical weapons division, Igor Kirillov, was killed in a bold attack on Tuesday in Moscow, an assault claimed by Kyiv. This marks the highest-ranking Russian military official to be assassinated as the ongoing war in Ukraine enters its third year.
Kirillov, 54, and his assistant were killed when an explosive device attached to a scooter detonated outside a residential building in southeastern Moscow, according to both Russian and Ukrainian officials.
The attack occurred just one day after President Vladimir Putin touted Russian military successes in Ukraine. Kirillov, who led Russia’s chemical, biological, and radiological weapons unit, was sanctioned by the UK in October for his alleged role in deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed responsibility for the early morning explosion, describing it as a “special operation” and labeling Kirillov a “war criminal.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that an “explosive device planted in a scooter parked near the entrance of a residential building” exploded on the morning of December 17 on Ryazansky Avenue. The blast shattered windows and severely damaged the front door of the building, as observed by an AFP reporter on-site.
Authorities in Russia are investigating the incident as an act of terrorism. Ukraine’s SBU accused Kirillov of overseeing the use of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, calling him a legitimate target for his role in the atrocities.
“Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians,” a source in Ukraine’s security service told AFP, emphasizing that retribution for war crimes is inevitable.
While Moscow has witnessed assassinations before, attacks within the city—far from the frontlines of the war—are rare. Residents initially mistook the explosion for a construction accident. Mikhail Mashkov, a student living nearby, thought it was a construction site incident, but soon realized it was a massive explosion. Olga Bogomolova, a homemaker, similarly believed it was a fallen container before noticing broken windows and understanding the gravity of the situation.
Kirillov’s assassination follows previous high-profile killings, including nationalist writer Darya Dugina in a 2022 car bomb attack and military correspondent Maxim Fomin in a 2023 bombing. However, Kirillov’s death represents the most significant blow to Russia’s military leadership.
Kirillov had headed the Russian military’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defence unit since 2017. The unit does not oversee Russia’s nuclear weapons but is responsible for chemical and biological warfare capabilities.
Ukraine had charged Kirillov in absentia just a day before his death, accusing him of war crimes tied to the use of banned chemical weapons. The SBU claimed Russia had used chemical munitions in more than 4,800 instances since February 2022.
Both the UK and the US have accused Russia of using the toxic agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian forces, a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Chloropicrin, known for its choking properties, was banned for military use under the convention.
In October, the UK imposed sanctions on Kirillov and his unit, accusing them of deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine. Moscow has denied these allegations and maintained that it no longer possesses a chemical weapons arsenal, although calls for greater transparency persist.
Kirillov had frequently accused Kyiv and the West of operating secret biological labs in Ukraine, claims dismissed by independent fact-checkers and the West.
The attack occurred just one day after Putin declared 2024 a “landmark year” for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, boasting that Russian forces had gained the upper hand along the frontlines.