Russia Has Apprehended Uzbek Citizen Suspected of Assassinating General Kirillov
The Russian intelligence service stated that the suspect was promised a reward of $100,000 and approval to relocate to the European Union by his Ukrainian handlers.
An individual from Uzbekistan who is alleged to have planted a scooter bomb resulting in the death of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov has been apprehended in Moscow, as reported by the Russian investigative committee.
TASS, the Russian news agency, reported that the Federal Security Service (FSB) released a statement indicating that the 29-year-old suspect confessed to being recruited by the Ukrainian security services.
The FSB disclosed that the suspect, unnamed at this time, was offered $100,000 and the opportunity to move to a European Union country if he carried out the assassination of Kirillov, who led Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces.
Kirillov, aged 54, who assumed his role as the head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces in April 2017, was killed by a bomb concealed in a scooter outside his apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow on December 17.
On December 16, Kirillov had been sentenced by a Ukrainian court in absentia due to Russia’s alleged use of prohibited chemical weapons during the conflict in Ukraine.
The FSB noted that the suspect admitted to purchasing the scooter and later received materials to construct the bomb several months later.
TASS reported, “In his testimony, the man claimed to have placed the scooter with the bomb near the residence of the general.”
The FSB revealed that the Uzbek suspect rented a car and set up a camera to live stream the scene to his Ukrainian handlers in Dnipro.
Video footage circulating on social media captured Kirillov and his assistant leaving the apartment building just before the explosion, showing a black scooter positioned near the entrance door.
‘I Pressed The Button’
“When he left the house, I pressed the button,” the suspect alleged during interrogation.
An official in Kyiv confirmed that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) orchestrated the attack.
If convicted, the Uzbek suspect faces life imprisonment, as per the FSB. Russia has refrained from executions since 1996, although the death penalty remains in the legal books.
Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a border adjoining Afghanistan, witnesses many citizens migrating to Moscow and other Russian cities in search of work.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has yet to comment on Kirillov’s assassination, but Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s security council, denounced the attack as a ploy by Ukraine to divert attention from its battlefield setbacks, vowing that Kyiv’s “senior military-political leadership will face inevitable consequences.”
The Russian foreign ministry declared its intent to address Kirillov’s assassination at the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Friday.
Kirillov had delivered numerous briefings since the conflict began in February 2022, accusing the Ukrainian military of utilizing toxic agents and planning attacks involving radioactive substances.
Contradicting his claims, Kyiv and its Western allies dismissed them as false propaganda aimed at the Russian populace.
The SBU reported over 4,800 recorded uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since 2022, with most involving K-51 combat grenades.
Kirillov Accused By Ukrainians
During the 105th Session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in March, the Ukrainian delegation challenged Kirillov’s allegations against Ukraine, labeling them as baseless, stating that his remarks were aimed at setting the stage for a future false flag operation involving chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
The statement further accused Russia of employing toxic chemicals against Ukrainian troops to gain tactical advantages.
The Ukrainian delegation’s statement also denounced Russia’s support for the Assad regime in Syria, confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians, and the novichok attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
Notably, accusations were made against Russia for poisoning opposition figure Aleksey Navalny in 2020.
It remains unclear if Kirillov had any involvement in the Skripal or Navalny incidents.
In May, the U.S. State Department reported the use of chloropicrin—a chemical weapon dating back to World War I—against Ukrainian troops.
Over the past two years, Ukraine has targeted several individuals in Russia, including the assassination of Illya Kyva near Moscow in December 2023 and Sergei Yevsyukov in Donetsk earlier this month.
Since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Russia has seized significant territories in Donbas and southern Ukraine, in addition to annexing Crimea in 2014.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
