2024-12-17 07:33:00
A senior Russian army officer was killed in an explosion on the morning of Tuesday, December 17, near a residential building in southeast Moscow, announced the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation responsible for major investigations in the country.
“An explosive device placed in a scooter parked near the entrance to a residential building was activated on the morning of December 17 on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow”the commission stated in a communicated. “The commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, Igor Kirillov, and his deputy were killed” following the explosion, according to the same source.
According to images published by Russian media, the entrance to the building was severely damaged and the windows of several apartments were broken.
Open investigation
“A criminal investigation has been opened into the murder of the two soldiers in Moscow”according to the commission. Investigators have been sent to the scene and investigations are underway to ascertain what happened “all circumstances” of the accident, according to the same source.
In office since April 2017, Igor Kirillov was sanctioned in October by the United Kingdom for “deployment of barbaric chemical weapons in Ukraine”.
His assassination comes in the midst of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday took stock of the fighting in Ukraine for 2024, appreciating the pace of his troops’ advance «the initiative» all over the front at the end of this “crucial year”.
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