Russia’s investigative committee confirmed that Kirillov and his assistant died when the remotely detonated device went off outside a residential building about seven kilometers southeast of the Kremlin. Officials are treating the incident as a “terrorist act.”
CNN quoted a source familiar with the operation as saying that Ukraine’s security services were responsible. Ukrainian officials have previously accused Kirillov of ordering the use of banned chemical munitions against their military. Kirillov was wanted by Ukrainian prosecutors and had just been charged in absentia with using prohibited chemical agents in the conflict. Kyiv’s Security Service claims that since the start of the war, more than 4,800 cases of Russian forces employing tear gas grenades and other irritant chemical weapons had been recorded under Kirillov’s orders. Such use of riot-control substances is banned in warfare under international law.
Kirillov was also sanctioned by the UK in October for what it described as “abhorrent” deployment of chemical weapons on the battlefield and for spreading disinformation to mask Russia’s actions.
Footage shared on Russian social media channels showed emergency teams working near a shattered building entrance, with debris scattered and two bodies visible on the snow-covered ground. Residents reported a powerful blast, which Russian state news agency TASS said equaled about 300 grams of TNT. The site has been cordoned off as investigators and forensic experts search for evidence and establish the circumstances of the attack.
(jh)
Source: CNN, Reuters, IAR