Ukrainian security services have killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces in Moscow today, intelligence sources in Kyiv have claimed.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt after a bomb hidden in an electric scooter detonated.
In a statement to the Financial Times, an intelligence source described Kirillov as a “completely legitimate target”.
He was sanctioned by Britain in October for his battlefield involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the investigative committee said.
Photographs posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a shattered entrance to a building littered with rubble and two bodies lying in the blood-stained snow.
His death comes a day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged him with the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine war.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge for the “cowardly and despicable strikes”, the RIA state news agency reported.
Russian forces seize village in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defence Ministry says
Russian forces claim to have taken control of the settlement of Hannivka in eastern Ukraine, according to Russia’s state RIA news agency.
The reports, which came from Russia’s Defence Ministry on Tuesday, have not been independently verified.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 10:46
Defence expert warns of major Russian retaliation after general’s death in Moscow
A defence expert has warned of major Russian retaliation after a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces died in Moscow on Tuesday (17 December).
Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt.
His assistant was also killed, a Russian investigative committee said.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 10:34
Watch: Starmer meets world leaders in Estonia as he visits troops serving on Russian border
The Prime Minister will join leaders from the Nordics and Baltics to discuss support for Ukraine, the sustained threat posed by Russia, and wider European security.
Sir Keir will then visit British forces serving in the region to deter malign Russian threats.
When asked what else could be done to support Ukraine, Sir Keir said: “There is an ever-increasing demand for more capability. That is understandable, and Ukraine needs all the capability that it can get, so I think all of us have put in more capability into Ukraine by way of equipment.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 10:19
Kyiv condemns visit of Pan-African delegation to Russian-occupied areas
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the visit of a Pan-African delegation to the Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
Representatives for a dozen African countries in the Pan-African Parliament visited Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region to “find out the truth of the Russian people”.
The parliament is the legislative body of the African Union, which represents 55 counties in the African continent.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Their statements during this visit about opposing colonialism, made on Ukrainian land illegally seized by Russia in the course of its neocolonial war of aggression against Ukraine, are completely absurd.
“Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry strongly protests the visit of the delegation of the Pan-African Parliament.”
Alex Croft17 December 2024 10:04
Two injured in Russian strike on civilian car, says Ukraine
Two people have been injured after Russia struck a civilian car in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, the region’s military administration said.
Russian forces dropped explosives on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), injuring a 51-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman.
The pair were both diagnosed with blast and craniocerebral injuries, concussion and shrapnel wounds. They have been taken to hospital for treatment, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 09:50
Watch: Aftermath as Russian general killed in Moscow explosion
Alex Croft17 December 2024 09:36
Watch: Defence expert warns of major Russian retaliation after general’s death in Moscow
A defence expert has warned of major Russian retaliation after a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces died in Moscow on Tuesday (17 December).
Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt.
His assistant was also killed, a Russian investigative committee said.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 09:34
Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge – Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president of Russia, said the Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge for killing a top Russian general, according to RIA state news agency.
“Realising the inevitability of its military defeat, it launches cowardly and despicable strikes in peaceful cities,” Medvedev said.
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine has claimed Kyiv was responsible for the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops.
Alex Croft17 December 2024 09:21
