Ukrainian Bomb Kills Head of Russia's Nuclear Defense Forces in Moscow

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Facts

  • A bomb hidden in an electric scooter has killed a senior Russian general and his aide, Russian officials confirmed on Tuesday morning.[1]
  • Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov — head of Russia's Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops — and his assistant were killed after the device detonated outside the entrance of a residential building in Ryazansky Avenue in southwest Moscow, a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee said.[2]
  • A criminal investigation was opened and a law enforcement source told Russian news agency TASS that the device was suspected to have contained 300g of explosives.[3]
  • Shortly after, the Security Service of Ukraine claimed responsibility for the assassination. "Kirillov was a war criminal ... he gave orders to use banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military," a source within the agency told the Kyiv Independent, adding: "Retribution for war crimes is inevitable."[4]
  • Despite claims he was a legitimate target, the targeted killing or assassination of individuals away from the field of hostilities is prohibited under international law.[5]
  • Ukraine has frequently employed the tactic against Russian or Russian-aligned officials in both Russia and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine throughout the course of the war.[6][7][8][9]

Sources: [1]Sky News, [2]TASS (a), [3]TASS (b), [4]The Kyiv Independent, [5]The Conversation, [6]BBC News, [7]Ukrainska Pravda, [8]Newsweek and [9]Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Narratives

  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by The Kyiv Indepdendent. This Russian official was a war criminal who directed numerous chemical weapons attacks against Ukraine. As such, his targeting is completely legitimate.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. The killing of Kirillov and his aide is an act of terror that's being looked into by the Russian Investigative Committee. A manhunt for the perpetrator is underway and all those responsible will be held accountable.