Russia's head of nuclear defence troops killed in Moscow blast

A top Russian general in charge of radiation, chemical and biological protection forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow, according to the country’s investigative committee.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was found dead alongside his assistant outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow.

Ukrainian newspaper, the Kyiv Independent, claimed that the blast was co-ordinated by Ukrainian Security Services, citing an anonymous source.

The explosion was caused by a device hidden inside a scooter, said the committee. The explosion was triggered remotely, reported local media.

Videos posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a two bodies laying in snow and officers walking outside a destroyed entrance to a building.

A day prior to his death, the Kyiv Post reported that the general was sentenced in absentia over using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.

In October, Kirillov was sanctioned by the UK government for using riot control agents and over reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin in Ukraine.

The UK said at the time Kirillov and his forces were "responsible for helping deploy these barbaric weapons" — an accusation the Kremlin called "baseless."

In May, the US State Department said in a statement that it had recorded the use of chloropicrin, a chemical weapon first used in World War I, against Ukrainian troops.

Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, said they recorded over 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kirillov, who was named the head of Russia’s nuclear defence forces in April 2017, was also under sanctions from Canada and New Zealand.

Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological defence troops, known as the RKhBZ, are a special force that operate under conditions of radioactive, chemical, and biological contamination.

Investigators said a criminal investigation has been opened in connection with the deaths.