Russia’s Federal Security Service announced on Wednesday the arrest of an Uzbek national in connection with the bombing that resulted in the death of a high-ranking general shortly after he exited his apartment in southeastern Moscow. This dramatic assassination has been attributed to Ukraine’s security service, further escalating tensions in the ongoing conflict.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday when a bomb concealed on an electric scooter detonated outside his residence, coinciding with the recent criminal charges filed by Ukraine’s security service against him. His aide, Ilya Polikarpov, also lost his life in the explosion.
The shocking incident has brought the repercussions of the nearly three-year war in Ukraine directly to the streets of Moscow. The individual arrested was named by Russian news agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti as Akhmad Kurbanov, a citizen of Uzbekistan. Although the Federal Security Service (FSB) did not publicly confirm his identity, they indicated he was born in 1995 and supposedly recruited by Ukrainian operatives. The nature of his communications with the FSB remains unverified.
According to the FSB, Kurbanov claimed he was promised $100,000, along with relocation to a European Union country, in return for executing Kirillov. The security agency detailed that, acting on orders from Ukraine, he acquired an improvised explosive device in Moscow, affixed it to an e-scooter, and left it at the entrance of Kirillov’s building. He also rented a vehicle to surveil the area and set up a camera to livestream the events to Ukrainian handlers located in Dnipro before triggering the bomb as Kirillov exited.
The suspect was apprehended in a village in the Moscow region and could potentially face life imprisonment if convicted. Kirillov, 54, served as the head of Russia’s Radiation, Biological, and Chemical Protection Forces, which are responsible for ensuring the military’s safety against radioactive, chemical, or biological threats. He faced sanctions from several countries, including Canada and the U.K., due to his involvement in Russia’s aggressive military actions in Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service opened a probe against Kirillov for allegedly overseeing the deployment of prohibited chemical weapons.
Despite persistent denials, Russia has accused Ukraine of using toxic agents, escalating the hostile narrative. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Security Service, known as SBU, claimed responsibility for the attack, labeling Kirillov a “war criminal” and a “legitimate target.” The spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, shared footage purportedly showing the bombing, capturing two individuals departing a building just before the explosion occurred.
Since his appointment in 2017, Kirillov had emerged as a key figure in accusing Ukraine of using forbidden chemical weapons, holding numerous presentations to assert that the Ukrainian military was involved in such activities — claims consistently refuted by Ukraine and its Western allies as mere propaganda. Following the assassination, Russian authorities condemned the act as terrorism, pledging retaliation against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked on Wednesday that it was clear Ukraine was implicated in Kirillov’s death, asserting that the Ukrainian government employs terrorist tactics. This incident marks the second time this year that Russian officials have categorized an attack in Moscow as a terrorist act linked to Ukraine. In March, a deadly assault at a Moscow concert hall left over 130 people dead, with President Vladimir Putin later asserting that the attackers had connections to Ukrainian intelligence, although Kyiv has firmly denied these allegations. Meanwhile, an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack.
