Russia detains Uzbek man for general’s murder

Russia’s security service says a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been detained for the murder of General Igor Kirillov and his aide in Moscow.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces (NBC), was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.

The Russian security service said the unnamed suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, according to state media agencies.

Ukraine’s security service had already claimed to be behind the murder, a source told the BBC on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian source said Kirillov – who was Russia’s chemical weapons chief – was “a legitimate target” and alleged he had committed war crimes.

On Monday, the day before the murder, Ukraine charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, saying he was “responsible for the massive use of banned chemical weapons.” Russia denies the accusations.

The public relations center of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that the 29-year-old detainee was “suspected of having committed a terrorist act.”

A statement states that during the “interrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services.”

The FSB said the suspect had been “guaranteed” a $100,000 reward and permission to travel to the European Union in exchange for killing Kirillov.

He added that, following instructions from Ukraine, he arrived in Moscow and received a homemade explosive device.

He placed the explosive device on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lived, the FSB said.

He then rented a car to monitor Kirillov’s residence and also installed a camera that transmitted live video from the site to his handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

When they saw Kirillov leave the house, the suspect detonated the bomb, according to the statement.

Kirillov is believed to be the highest-ranking military figure killed inside Russia since the country invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.

In addition to being charged by Ukraine, the 54-year-old had previously been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian security service SBU has claimed that Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times under the general’s leadership.

Moscow denies it and It says it destroyed the last remnant of its vast chemical weapons arsenal in 2017.

Images from the scene Tuesday outside Kirillov’s apartment block in southeastern Moscow showed the entrance badly damaged, with burn marks on the walls and several broken windows. Two body bags could also be seen on the street.

Also on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would raise Kirillov’s assassination at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday.

Russian officials have vowed to find and punish those involved in the murder.