Russian court orders two-month detention for suspect in General Kirillov assassination
A Moscow court ruled on Dec. 19 to place the suspect in the killing of General Igor Kirillov in pre-trial detention for two months. The court announced the decision on its Telegram channel.
The suspect, originally from Uzbekistan, faces charges of committing a terrorist act resulting in death, according to a notice on the court's website.
On Dec. 18, Russian security forces detained two suspects over the assassination of a top Kremlin general and his assistant in Moscow. 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.
Kirillov, 54, served as the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense unit.
One day before his assassination, Ukrainian prosecutors charged him in absentia for deploying prohibited chemical weapons during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A Kyiv Independent investigation published in August revealed that Russian forces have increasingly used gas attacks against Ukrainian troops. Kirillov’s involvement in these operations led to sanctions from both the U.K. and Canada.
Speaking to the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 17, a source from Ukraine’s SBU described Kirillov as a war criminal and a "completely legitimate target," as he gave orders to use banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers.
Chris York
