Uzbek citizen detained in Moscow bombing that killed top general, Russian security says
Suspect was hired by Ukraine to plant bomb in scooter outside general's apartment, Russia says
Russia's security service said Wednesday that it detained a citizen from Uzbekistan in the bombing that killed a senior general as he left his southeastern Moscow apartment — a bold assassination that was claimed by Ukraine's security service.
Lt.-Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed Tuesday by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine's security service levelled criminal charges against him. His assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed.
The brazen bombing brought the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine once again to the streets of the Russian capital.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which did not identify the suspect, said he was born in 1995 and was recruited by Ukraine's security service. The Associated Press could not confirm the conditions under which the suspect spoke to the FSB.
The FSB said the suspect had been promised a reward of $100,000 US and permission to move to a European Union country in exchange for killing Kirillov.
The agency stated that, acting on instructions from Ukraine, the suspect picked up a homemade bomb in Moscow, placed the device on an electric scooter and parked it at the entrance to Kirillov's apartment building.
Explosion livestreamed
He rented a car to monitor the location and set up a camera that livestreamed footage from the scene to his handlers in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the FSB said, detonating the bomb when Kirillov left the building.
The suspect, who was detained in a village in the Moscow region, according to Interior Ministry, could face a life sentence if convicted.
Kirillov, 54, was the chief of the military's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces. These special troops are tasked with protecting the military from the enemy's use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment.
He was under sanctions from several countries, including the U.K. and Canada, for his actions in Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) opened a criminal investigation against him, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.
Russia has denied using any chemical weapons in Ukraine and, in turn, has accused Kyiv of using toxic agents in combat.
An SBU official told AP on Tuesday that the agency was behind the attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, described Kirillov as a "war criminal and an entirely legitimate target."
The SBU official provided video that was said to be of the bombing, showing two men leaving a building shortly before a blast fills the frame.
Kirillov, who took up his post in 2017, was one of the most high-profile figures to level the accusations against Ukraine. He held numerous briefings to accuse the Ukrainian military of using toxic agents and planning to launch attacks with radioactive substances — claims that Ukraine and its Western allies rejected as propaganda.
Russian officials described Kirillov's killing as an act of terrorism and vowed to punish Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday it was "obvious" that Ukraine was behind Kirillov's killing, saying Kyiv "does not shy away from terrorist methods."
It was the second time this year that Russia has described an attack in Moscow as an act of terrorism and sought to tie it to Ukraine.
In March, when gunmen attacked a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130 people, President Vladimir Putin said the assailants — four men from Tajikistan, also in Central Asia — were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Russian officials have claimed that the suspects had links to Ukrainian intelligence agencies, although Kyiv firmly denied involvement and an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.