General Igor Kirillov and His Assistant Killed in Moscow Blast
05:21 GMT 17.12.2024 (Updated: 08:17 GMT 17.12.2024)
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As a result of the explosion in Moscow, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense of the Russian armed forces and his assistant were killed, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.
"According to the investigation, on the morning of December 17, an explosive device, planted in a scooter parked next to the entrance of a residential building, was detonated on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow. As a result of the incident, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the armed forces of Russia, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant were killed," the committee wrote on Telegram.
A criminal case has been opened in connection with the incident on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, which resulted in the deaths of two men, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Tuesday.
Footage has surfaced on social media from the site of the explosion on Ryazansky Avenue in the southeast of Moscow, where two people were killed. https://t.co/OToqM2B3Wv pic.twitter.com/qksZsalX0g
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) December 17, 2024
"In connection with the incident that occurred on Ryazanskiy Prospekt in the city of Moscow, which resulted in the deaths of two men, the investigative bodies of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the city of Moscow have opened a criminal case," the committee said on Telegram.
According to preliminary reports, the improvised explosive device was placed on an electric scooter positioned at the entrance of the house.
Investigators are at the scene and medical and bomb experts are being called in to assist in the operation, a search for the perpetrator is underway, the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee said.
The power of the explosive device that went off in Moscow amounted to about 200 grams of TNT, emergency services told Sputnik.
The blast wave shattered the windows in the house opposite to where the bomb went off.
Russian security forces have begun studying video from surveillance cameras near the entrance to the building in southeast Moscow where Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed, a representative of the capital's emergency services told Sputnik.
"Video footage from the explosion site on Ryazansky Prospekt was seized," the representative said, adding that specialists have started studying the materials.
The blast resulted in the deaths of Igor Kirillov and his assistant.
General Kirillov had “systematically and fearlessly exposed the heinous crimes of the Anglo-Saxons and NATO provocations,” noted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The death of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov is an irreparable loss, his killers will be punished, Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, said.
"This is shock. An irreparable loss. Eternal memory. Condolences to the families of the victims. The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy," Kosachev wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian Intelligence Can Be Behind Russian General Kirillov's Murder
The killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense of the Russian armed forces, could have been planned and carried out by the Ukrainian special services, Russian lawmaker Alexey Zhuravlev told Sputnik.
"I think hardly anyone doubts that the murder of General Kirillov was planned and carried out by the Ukrainian special services. They are proud of it, and what is most terrible is that they encourage terrorism in the West," Zhuravlev said.
On Monday, the Ukrainian Security Service brought charges against Kirillov "to enhance the propaganda effect," the lawmaker said, adding that the military was a dangerous and inconvenient figure for Europe and the US, as he exposed the experiments of the Ukrainian armed forces and the role of the West in this.
