Russia detains suspect in assassination of nuclear protection forces chief in Moscow

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia's federal security agency on Wednesday apprehended an Uzbek national suspected of assassinating Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the country's head of Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Defense Forces, in Moscow.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), working with the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee, identified and detained an Uzbek citizen born in 1995, state news agency Tass reported, citing a security agency statement.

The FSB handed over the accused to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the statement said, adding that the suspect admitted Ukrainian special services recruited him.

Separately, Interior Minister Irina Volk said on Telegram that the suspect was arrested in the village of Chernoe in the Moscow region.

On Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed in an explosion on Moscow's Ryazansky Prospekt.

Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said the explosion was caused by explosives planted on a scooter near the entrance of an apartment building in the area.

She went on to say that the committee has launched criminal investigations into the attack, later reporting that it has been classified as a "terrorist attack."

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, described Kirillov's killing as an attempt to intimidate the Russian people and stop its army's advance in Ukraine, vowing that Kyiv's military-political leadership will face "inevitable retribution."

Multiple Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform, citing sources, said Kirillov was killed as part of a "special operation" by Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU).

However, Ukrainian authorities have not officially taken responsibility for the assassination.

Kirillov's killing also came a day after the SBU charged him in absentia with ordering the "use of chemical weapons against Ukraine's Defense Forces."