Russia's security services said Wednesday they had detained an Uzbek citizen in a bomb attack that killed a senior general as he left his apartment in southeastern Moscow. This is a brave murder to which the Ukrainian security services have admitted.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after criminal charges were brought against him by Ukrainian security services. His assistant Ilya Polikarpov was also killed.
Brazen bombings have brought the nearly three-year war in Ukraine once again to the streets of the Russian capital.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which did not identify the suspect, said he was born in 1995 and was recruited by the Ukrainian security services. The Associated Press could not confirm the conditions under which the suspect spoke to the FSB.
Russia has vowed revenge following the early morning killing of its top general in a residential area of Moscow. The Ukrainian intelligence service admitted responsibility.
The FSB reported that the suspect was promised a reward of $100,000 and permission to move to a European Union country in exchange for killing Kirillov.
The agency reported that the suspect, acting on Ukraine's instructions, picked up a homemade bomb in Moscow, placed it on an electric scooter and parked it in front of the entrance to Kirillova's apartment building.
The explosion was broadcast live
He rented a car to monitor the location and installed a camera that transmitted live footage of the scene to his handlers in Dniprop, central Ukraine, the FSB said, detonating the bomb as Kirillov left the building.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the suspect, who was detained in a village in the Moscow Oblast, could face life in prison if convicted.
Kirillov (54) was the head of the military's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces. The task of these special forces is to protect the military against the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons by the enemy and to ensure operations in a contaminated environment.
He was subject to sanctions by several countries, including the UK and Canada, for his actions during the Moscow military operation in Ukraine. On Monday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched an investigation against him, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.
Russia denies the use of any chemical weapons in Ukraine, accusing Kiev of using toxic agents in combat.
On Tuesday, an SBU official told the AP that the agency was behind the attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, described Kirillov as a “war criminal and a completely legitimate target.”
An SBU official released a video purporting to show the bombing, showing two men leaving the building shortly before the explosion appeared in the frame.
Kirillov, who took up this position in 2017, was one of the most important figures making accusations against Ukraine. He conducted numerous briefings during which he accused the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning attacks using radioactive substances – a claim that Ukraine and its Western allies rejected as propaganda.
Russian officials considered Kirillov's murder an act of terrorism and announced punishment for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that “it is obvious” that Ukraine was behind Kirillov's murder, stating that Kiev “does not shy away from terrorist methods.”
For the second time this year, Russia described the attack in Moscow as an act of terrorism and tried to link it to Ukraine.
In March, when gunmen attacked a Moscow concert hall where more than 130 people died, President Vladimir Putin said the attackers – four men from Tajikistan, also from Central Asia – had been captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Russian officials say the suspects had ties to Ukrainian intelligence agencies, though Kiev has strongly denied involvement A branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.