Russia detains Uzbek national suspected of bombing in Moscow that killed general

On December 19, 2024By Littum

Russia’s security service said Wednesday it detained a citizen of Uzbekistan in the country bombing that killed a high-ranking general as he left his apartment in south-east Moscow – a brave killing claimed by Ukraine’s security service.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building, the next day. Security Service of Ukraine filed criminal charges against him. His assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed.

Investigators work near a scooter at the site where Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, and his aide Ilya Polikarpov were killed by an explosive device planted close to an apartment block in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday on December 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

The brazen bombing brought the almost 3-year-old war in Ukraine back to the streets of the capital.

The suspect was identified by Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies as Akhmad Kurbanov from Uzbekistan.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, which did not identify him, said he was born in 1995 and was recruited by Ukraine’s security service. The Associated Press could not confirm the circumstances under which the suspect spoke with the FSB.

He said he had been promised $100,000 and resettlement in an EU country in exchange for killing Kirillov, according to the FSB.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Investigators work at the site where Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were killed by an explosive device planted close to an apartment block in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday December 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

The agency said the suspect, following instructions from Ukraine, picked up a homemade bomb in Moscow, placed it on an e-scooter and parked it at the entrance to Kirillov’s apartment building.

He rented a car to monitor the scene and set up a camera that live-streamed the scene to his handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, said the FSB, which detonated the bomb as Kirillov left the building.

The suspect, who was detained in a village in the Moscow region, could face a life sentence if convicted, according to the Interior Ministry.

Russia says it has arrested a suspect in the killing of a senior military official in Moscow. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports.

Kirillov, 54, was the head of Russia’s radiation, biological and chemical protection forces. These special forces are tasked with protecting the military against the enemy’s use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring safe operations in a contaminated environment.

He was under sanctions from several countriesincluding Great Britain and Canada, for his actions in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, opened a criminal investigation against him, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.

Russia has denied using chemical weapons in Ukraine and has accused Kiev of using toxic substances in combat.

An SBU official told AP on Tuesday that the agency was behind the attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, described Kirillov as a “war criminal and a completely legitimate target.”

The SBU official provided a video said to be of the bombing, which shows two men leaving a building shortly before an explosion fills the frame.

Kirillov, who took office in 2017, was one of the most high-profile figures to direct the charges against Ukraine. He held several briefings to accuse the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning to launch attacks with radioactive substances – claims that Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed as propaganda.

Workers load a body of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces, into a bus after he and his aide Ilya Polikarpov were killed by an explosive device placed close to an apartment block in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, 17 .December 2024. (AP Photo)

Russian officials described Kirillov’s killing as an act of terrorism and vowed to punish Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that it was “obvious” that Ukraine was behind Kirillov’s killing and said Kyiv “does not shy away from terrorist methods.”

It was the second time this year that Russia has described an attack in Moscow as an act of terrorism and tried to tie it to Ukraine.

In March, when gunmen attacked a Moscow Concert Hall that killed more than 130 people, President Vladimir Putin said the attackers – four men from Tajikistan, also in Central Asia – were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Russian officials have claimed the suspects had links to Ukrainian intelligence services, although Kyiv strongly denied involvement and an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

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Illia Novikov in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed.

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