A kilo of TNT explosive tied to the handlebars of an electric scooter and activated remotely: this is how General Igor Kirillov, the highest-ranking officer to have died since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, was killed in Moscow .
The attack was claimed by Ukrainian secret services. Moscow, which also accuses the West of moral complicity, promises "imminent" revenge .
Kirillov had been the head of the Russian radiological, chemical and biological defense forces since 2017. The Russian Investigative Committee announced today the arrest of a 29-year-old Uzbek citizen for the murder: " A citizen of Uzbekistan, born in 1995, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack that killed the commander of the Russian radiological, chemical and biological defense forces, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant Ilia Polikarpov," the statement read. The suspect claimed to have been " recruited by Ukrainian special services ."
Moscow accuses Kiev of "terrorism" and promises revenge. The issue of the assassination will be raised before the UN Security Council on December 20 .
Russia also has the West in its sights, calling it complicit in the terrorist act. " If General Kirillov was a legitimate military target, then so are all the NATO officials who made the decision on military assistance to Ukraine and are participating in a hybrid or conventional war against Russia ," says former President Dmitry Medvedev, criticizing the Times for calling the murder a legitimate act of defense.
(Unioneonline/L)