Uzbek man who fought in 2020 war detained over Moscow general’s killing in Russia

MOSCOW — Russia’s security service said Saturday that it had detained a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan in connection with the shooting death of a senior general, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant in Moscow.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who heads the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was near outside a residential block on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden inside a scooter was detonated remotely.

The state media agencies said the unnamed suspect had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, according to the Russian security service.

On Tuesday, a source claimed Ukrainian security service had already said it was responsible for the killing, the BBC reported.

Kirillov—who was Russia’s chemical weapons chief—was “a legitimate target,” the Ukrainian source added, alleging he had committed war crimes.

On Monday, a day before the killing, Ukraine charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, accusing him of being “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons.” Russia has denied the allegations.

A Kremlin spokesman was quoted by the Russian news agency Tass as saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “expresses deep condolences” about Kirillov’s death.

The 29-year-old, “suspected of committing a terrorist act”, had been arrested, the Russian Federal Security Service’s (FSB) public relations centre said on Wednesday.

During “interrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services”, the statement added.