Environmental Protection AgencyThe Russian Security Service announced that a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been arrested over the killing of Senior General Igor Kirillov and his aide in Moscow.
Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, was outside an apartment building early Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a motorcycle exploded remotely.
The Russian Security Service said the unnamed suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, according to state media agencies.
The Ukrainian Security Service had already announced that it was behind the killing. A source told the BBC Tuesday.
The Ukrainian source said Kirillov, who was in charge of Russia's chemical weapons, was a “legitimate target” and allegedly committed war crimes.
On Monday, a day before the killing, Ukraine charged Kirilov (54 years old) in absentia, saying he was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons.” Russia denies these accusations.
The Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service said on Wednesday that the 29-year-old detainee is “suspected of committing a terrorist act.”
A statement said that during “interrogation he explained that he had been recruited by the Ukrainian special services.”
Environmental Protection AgencyIn a video released by the Federal Security Service, the alleged suspect, a dark-haired man wearing handcuffs, speaks directly to the camera with a visible tear in his coat.
He apparently said he was offered a $100,000 reward and permission to move to the European Union in exchange for killing Kirillov.
The FSB added that, on Ukraine's instructions, he arrived in Moscow and obtained a homemade explosive device.
The Federal Security Service said that the man placed the explosive device on an electric motorcycle, which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lives.
The statement added that he then rented a car to monitor Kirillov's residence and installed a camera on the dashboard that broadcast a live video feed to workers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The Russian Federal Security Service said that when they saw Kirillov leaving the house, the suspect was asked to press the button and detonate the bomb.
Kirillov is believed to be the most senior military figure to be assassinated inside Russia since the country invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
In addition to being accused by Ukraine, the 54-year-old had previously been charged The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on it over the alleged use of chemical weapons In Ukraine.
Ukraine's security service, the SBU, claimed that Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times under the general's command.
Moscow denies this It says it destroyed the remainder of its huge stockpile of chemical weapons in 2017.
Pictures of the scene outside Kirillov's apartment building in southeastern Moscow on Tuesday showed the entrance badly damaged, with burn marks on the walls and a number of windows smashed. Two bags of bodies were also seen in the street.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said on Wednesday that Russia would raise the issue of Kirillov's assassination at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday.
Russian officials pledged to find and punish those involved in the killing.
