Russian general indicted by Ukraine killed in Moscow explosion

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A video obtained by CNN shows the moments before Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed in a Moscow explosion.

In the video, which was obtained from a source with knowledge of the operation allegedly carried out by Ukraine’s security services, both men can be seen leaving a residential building, with one of the men carrying what appears to be a box in one hand and a briefcase in the other.

Though the video is slightly blurry, the outline of what appears to be a scooter can be seen close to the building’s exit, parked to the right of the door.

Both men were killed by an explosive device planted in an electric scooter, according to the Russian investigative committee.

Those in the video seem to be walking towards a waiting car, which is a few meters in front of the door with its headlights on. Before they can reach it, the explosive detonates, and the screen flashes white.

The United Kingdom will not mourn Igor Kirillov, the Russian general killed in an explosion in Moscow on Tuesday, Downing Street has said.

“Clearly, we are not going to mourn the death of an individual who has propagated an illegal invasion and imposed suffering and death on the Ukrainian people,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said Tuesday.

The UK sanctioned Kirillov in October, saying he was “responsible for helping deploy” chemical weapons on the battlefields of Ukraine.

Earlier, a source with knowledge of the operation told CNN that Ukraine’s security services were behind the assassination of the Russian general in Moscow.

Starmer’s spokesperson added that the UK government has “always been clear that Ukraine has the right to self-defense against Russia’s illegal war.”

“As the prime minister said just yesterday, Russia could put an end to this conflict today. It is Russian aggression that is causing this conflict and the ongoing suffering of the Ukrainian people,” he said.

Investigators work at the site where Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's radiological, biological and chemical protections forces, was killed by an explosive device in Moscow on Tuesday.

The explosion that killed Igor Kirillov on Tuesday seems to have been the most ambitious targeted attack of the war so far on Russian soil, carried out by the Ukrainian security services (as a source familiar with the operation has claimed) and hitting not only at the core of Russia’s military, but close to the heart of the nation’s capital.

An exploding scooter taking out a senior general is certainly not a good look for Russia’s beefed-up internal security apparatus. But it’s also a measure of the urgency Ukraine feels when it comes to wrestling back the initiative in this war by any means possible, as the clock ticks down to the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and Russia continues its steady advance on the eastern front.

Kirillov, as the head of Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection troops, was believed by Ukraine and its allies to have played a particularly destructive role in the conflict, responsible for the widespread use of chemical substances and riot agents such as CS gas on the battlefield. He was also an expert at deploying disinformation, an essential tool for maintaining support for the war at home. In one of his final public appearances in November, he claimed Ukraine’s main goal when it invaded Russia’s Kursk region was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant, and reupped a two-year-old Russian conspiracy theory that Ukraine was planning to build a dirty bomb.

Assassinations of key military figures on Russian soil, either directly or indirectly linked to Ukraine, have been a feature of this war. In July last year, a former submarine commander, Stanislav Rzhitsky, was shot in the southern city of Krasnodar while out for a run. And yet Kirillov’s death marks the fourth incident in the last two months alone.

In October, Dmitry Golenkov, a pilot with Russia’s 52nd heavy bomber regiment was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in Russia’s Bryansk region. In mid-November, a source with Ukraine’s security services told CNN it was responsible for a car bomb in Sevastopol, Crimea, that killed the chief of staff of Black Sea Fleet missile ships. And less than a week ago, the deputy chief designer of Russia’s Mars Design Bureau was shot in a Moscow park. CNN’s Ukrainian security source confirmed Kyiv was behind his killing, saying he was responsible for upgrading some of the cruise missiles fired at Ukraine.

Like all employees of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Kirillov is replaceable, and it’s unlikely his death will cause Russia to suddenly reverse course on chemical weapons. And yet, like many of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian soil, there’s an information component here – a signal to the Russian military that individuals are vulnerable, wherever they are, and to the Russian people – the latest attempt to puncture the facade that everything is going to plan.

Kirillov's assistant Ilya Polikarpov was also killed in the explosion in Moscow.

The assistant who was killed alongside Igor Kirillov on Tuesday has been named by Russian state media TASS as Ilya Polikarpov.

Polikarpov was the father of two children aged eight and nine years old, his wife Natalya told TASS, calling him a “great patriot” who “loved his motherland.”

He worked alongside TASS and the Russian Heritage foundation to engage in “humanitarian activities,” including helping to transfer funds and equipment for “safe activities in combat conditions” to Russian military units, TASS reported.

Vladimir Khmelev, the director of Russian Heritage and advisor to TASS’s director-general, said that Polikarpov was “very responsible and decent (and) always did what he said.”

“He lived for his work and family. We will miss him very much,” Khmelev said, according to TASS.

Investigators work at the location where Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's radiological, biological and chemical protections forces, and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were killed by an explosive device in Moscow on Tuesday.

Russian officials have responded furiously to the death of Igor Kirillov in Moscow, in an attack claimed by Ukraine.

Konstantin Kosacehv, a senator at the Federation Council and chair of its Foreign Relations Committee, said he was shocked by the “irreparable loss” of Kirillov.

“The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy,” he wrote on Telegram.

Andrey Kartapolov, a member of the Russia’s lower house of parliament, said those involved in Kirillov’s murder “will be found and punished.”

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, said Kirillov had been “systematically exposing the crimes” of the West for many years, citing a number of conspiracy theories, including “the deadly activities of American biolabs in Ukraine,” which has been consistently debunked.

The site of the explosion in Moscow, Russia, on December 17.

The killing of Igor Kirillov and his assistant has been classified as a “terrorist act,” the spokesperson for the Russian investigative committee said on Tuesday.

The assassination has also been classified as murder, Svetlana Petrenko said in a video statement, adding that the committee is investigating the “illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition” related to the killing.

According to investigation so far, she said, an explosive device was planted in a scooter parked at the scene of the crime, which detonated and killed both victims.

“An investigative task force is working at the scene, establishing the circumstances of the crimes and the circle of persons involved in their commission,” Petrenko said.

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for killing Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the man who headed Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protections forces, in Moscow on Tuesday morning.

Here’s what to know:

Kirillov wanted: The Russian general was wanted by Ukraine for using chemical weapons. He was killed by a remotely detonated bomb in Moscow alongside his assistant on Tuesday. One source from Ukraine’s security sources described him as a “war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target.”

Russia investigating: Russia’s investigative committee says a criminal investigation is underway and that investigators, forensic experts and operational services are at the scene.

Chemical sanctions: The UK and US had sanctioned Russia for using chloropicrin, an irritant that affects the eyes, skin, throat and lungs and was manufactured for use as a tear gas in World War I. It was banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1993. In October, the UK sanctioned Kirillov himself for using the weapons on the battlefields of Ukraine.

Kirillov’s claims: Kirillov often accused Ukraine of using, or planning to use chemical weapons - without providing evidence. He also claimed – without evidence – that Ukraine was planning to use “radioactive substances from the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities” at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Another outlandish claim from Kirillov saw him suggest repeatedly - and without proof - that the US was planning on delivering infected mosquitos to Russian military personnel by drone.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, attends a press conference in Moscow, Russia, in this still image from video released November 5.

Before his death in Moscow on Tuesday, Igor Kirillov regularly accused Ukraine of using – or planning to use – chemical weapons, without providing evidence.

When the United Kingdom placed sanctions on Kirillov in October, it said he had been “a significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation, spreading lies to mask Russia’s shameful and dangerous behavior.”

In October 2022 – when Ukraine began to liberate territories in Kherson and elsewhere, delivering a major setback to Russia’s invasion – Kirillov made unfounded accusations that Ukraine was planning to detonate a “dirty bomb,” dispersing radioactive matter on its own territory. “This work is in its final stage,” he said.

He also claimed – without evidence – that Ukraine was planning to use “radioactive substances from the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities” at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

In November this year, he claimed that one of the key aims of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant.

Kirillov also suggested repeatedly - and without proof - that the US was planning on delivering infected mosquitos to Russian military personnel by drone.

The United States and United Kingdom this year placed sanctions on Russia for its use of the chemical weapon chloropicrin against troops in Ukraine, months before Igor Kirillov was killed in Moscow on Tuesday.

In May, the US State Department assessed that Russia had used chloropicrin – a riot control agent first used in World War I – against Ukrainian forces, which it said was in violation of the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to which Russia is a signatory.

Chloropicrin — an irritant that affects the eyes, skin, throat and lungs — was manufactured for use as a tear gas during the trench warfare of World War I, but was banned under the CWC in 1993.

In October, the UK sanctioned Kirillov himself, saying he was “responsible for helping deploy” chemical weapons on the battlefields of Ukraine.

“Russian forces have openly admitted to using hazardous chemical weapons on the battlefield, with widespread use of riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin – first deployed on the battlefields of WW1,” the UK’s Foreign Office said.