Russian General Accused Of Chemical Weapon Use Killed By Moscow Bomb

A top Russian general in charge of Russia's nuclear defense forces was killed on Tuesday by a bomb hidden inside his scooter.

Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed the death of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and said it was being investigated under terrorism and other charges.

Kirillov was outside his residence in Moscow when the bomb went off, according to several media reports, killing the most high-ranking Russian official inside of Russia since the Kremlin's war against Ukraine started in 2022.

He was the head of Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops, which is involved with protecting Russian forces from hazardous threats and using related weapons or materials.

Ukraine has killed several high-ranking generals and officials in the war, but most of them have died on the battlefield.

In 2022, a car bomb in Moscow killed Daria Dugan, the daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's close ally.

And just days before Kirillov, Mikhail Shatskyi, a Russian official at a construction company, was killed as part of an operation targeting those responsible for weapons procurement, according to the Kyiv Post.

Ukraine has rarely acknowledged any responsibility for the deaths of Russian officials inside of Russia but has leaked to several outlets that it was behind the death of Kirillov.

Ukraine's security service had opened an investigation into Kirillov on Monday for directing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield.

Russia has denied using chemical weapons in Ukraine. The U.S. imposed sanctions in May targeting officials it claimed were responsible for chemical weapons use in the war.