Kremlin in shock after top general killed in Moscow bombing
A daring morning assassination is only the latest hit by Ukrainian intelligence.
Residents in Moscow’s Ryanzanksy suburb were jolted awake this morning by a deafening blast emanating from the street level. Among the glass and debris lay one of Russia's most notable military men, lifeless and face down in the scorched snow.
The target of the assassination was General Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological forces. Sources inside the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the operation which is reported to have used an electric scooter armed with explosives to pull off the hit.
Russian officials have responded with fury to the assassination. Konstantin Kosacehv, chair of the Russian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, lamented the “irreparable loss” of Kirillov, vowing: “The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy”. A spokesperson for the Russian investigative committee confirmed that the killing of both the general and his assistant has been classified as a “terrorist act”.
A mere 24 hours before his demise, Kirillov was indicted in absentia by prosecutors in Kyiv on war crimes charges for directing Russian forces to use chemical weapons on 4,800 occasions in Ukraine. Spared a court trial, Kirillov appears to have received an immediate death sentence.
The charges against Kirillov follow sanctions imposed on him by Britain in October for using "barbaric weapons”, namely riot control gasses and the toxic choking agent chloropicrin, to clear Ukrainian defenses. In the announcement, the Foreign Office also characterised Kirillov as “a significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”, accusing him of spreading numerous far-fetched conspiracies regarding Ukrainian biological and nuclear weapons.
One Kirillov theory – that Ukraine is harbouring American biological weapons factories – has been parroted by Trump’s incoming National Intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard on several occasions, prompting serious concerns that the future head of American intelligence is susceptible to Kremlin propaganda.
Kyiv has refrained from making an official statement on today’s assassination. However, one unnamed Ukrainian official told POLITICO: “Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target since he gave orders to use banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military. Such an inglorious end awaits all who kill Ukrainians”.
The ominous and credible threat is sure to leave Russian military and political leaders wary of scooters, household appliances, and various other potential bomb-concealers. While Kirillov is the most notable victim of the SBU’s operations on Russian territory, he is far from the first.
Less than a week ago, Mikhail Shatsky, a senior Russian cruise missile engineer was gunned down in Moscow’s Kuzminki forest park with Ukrainian media reporting that Ukraine’s intelligence was behind the killing. Shatsky was deputy chief of design and head of software at the Mars Design Bureau which develops missiles used by the Russian military.
Others speculated to have been eliminated by Ukrainian intelligence include Daria Dugina, the daughter of influential ultranationalist Aleksandr Dugin, who was killed in a Moscow car bombing, and senior Russian naval officer, Valery Trankovsky, who met a similar end in Crimea.
Downing Street has refrained from directly celebrating the contentious assassination, stating today: “We are not going to mourn the death of an individual who has propagated an illegal invasion and imposed suffering and death on the Ukrainian people”. Keir Starmer followed up by reiterating his unwavering support for Kyiv’s defence. Alongside expressions of solidarity, Starmer promised an additional £35 million in emergency funding to bolster Ukraine’s weakened power grid before the worst of winter sets in.
Amid Russia’s onslaught and the looming prospect of American abandonment, this winter will, literally and metaphorically, be a dark one for Ukraine. But, today, some Ukrainians will perhaps take solace in knowing that, after this morning’s assassination, the blood of the Kremlin’s top brass runs just as cold.
Josh Schlicht
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