Russian security forces have detained two suspects over the assassination of a top Kremlin general and his assistant in Moscow, Russian media reported on Dec. 18.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed in Moscow on Dec. 17, with a bomb attached to a scooter. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to Kommersant and several other Russian outlets cited by independent news website Meduza, the two suspects carried out the killings on the orders of the SBU.
They were detained by police who saw surveillance cameras’ footage from the scene which recorded a pair of suspicious cars.
Russian Telegram channel 112 said the suspects had already confessed to authorities.
One, a 29-year-old male, reportedly said he flew to Moscow where he rented a car, installed cameras to record the explosion, and used a homemade explosive device.
Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk, quoted by Ria, said he was arrested in the village of Chernoye in the Balashikha district of Moscow.
According to his alleged testimony, he was promised $100,000 for the murder and was in touch with an SBU officer through a messaging app.
Russian officials have not yet announced the conclusion of the investigation. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Kirillov, 54, was the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops (RKhBZ).
A day before his assassination, Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov in absentia with the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Moscow's forces have been increasingly deploying gas attacks against Ukrainian troops, a Kyiv Independent investigation from August found, and Kirillov has since been sanctioned by the U.K. and Canada for his role in their use.
"Kirillov was a war criminal and a completely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers," an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 17.
"Retribution for war crimes is inevitable."
Chris York
(Updated: )
