Russia Detains Uzbek Man On General’s killing

Russia’s security service says a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been detained over the killing of senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow.

Lt. Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.

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

Ukraine’s security service had already claimed it was behind the killing, a source disclosed on Tuesday. Reports said.

The Ukrainian source said Kirillov – who was Russia’s chemical weapons chief – was “a legitimate target” and alleged he had carried out war crimes.

On Monday, the day before the killing, Ukraine charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, saying he was “responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons.” Russia denies the allegations.

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

A statement said that during “interrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services.

The FSB said the suspect had been “guaranteed” a reward of $100,000 and permission to move to the European Union in exchange for killing Kirillov.

It added that on Ukraine’s instructions, he arrived in Moscow and received a homemade explosive device.

He placed the explosive device on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lived, the FSB said.

He then rented a car to monitor Kirillov’s residence and also installed a camera livestreaming a video feed from the site to his handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

When they saw Kirillov emerge from the house, the suspect detonated the bomb, the statement said.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq