Bomb blast in Moscow kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces and his assistant PHOTO

On December 17, an explosion on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow resulted in the death of General Lieutenant Igor Kirillov, the commander of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces of the Russian Armed Forces.

According to Svetlana Petrenko, the official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR), the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to an electric scooter, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media sources.

The blast occurred in the early morning hours when Kirillov, along with his assistant, exited a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue near the "Plyushki Vatrushki" café. It is believed that the IED, possibly attached to the scooter's handle, was detonated remotely.

"The device was triggered by an explosion around 6 AM on December 17, when the IED, placed next to the building entrance, went off," said Petrenko. Both Kirillov and his assistant were killed instantly.

According to a law enforcement official, the explosive device “had a capacity of some 300 grams in TNT equivalent”.

Notably, on December 16, Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov in absentia with the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine said, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Russia denies those accusations.

In October, the United Kingdom sanctioned Kirillov and the nuclear protection forces for using riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic agent chloropicrin on the battlefield.

The general had regularly briefed the Russian Ministry of Defense throughout 2023, often discussing the threat of terrorist activities on Russian soil. The incident is now under investigation, with authorities working to uncover further details. Emergency response teams from Moscow and the Ministry of Emergency Situations quickly arrived at the scene following the blast.

Details are still emerging, but early reports from the Telegram channels Mash and SHOT confirm the severity of the explosion and the ongoing investigation.

By Khagan Isayev