Head of Russia’s Nuclear Defense Forces Killed In Moscow Bombing

 The head of Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons defense force—who Ukraine has accused of deploying banned chemical weapons on the battlefield—was killed in a bomb blast outside an apartment building in Moscow on Tuesday.

According to the Russian state-run TASS news agency, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide were killed after a bomb planted in a scooter near the entrance of a residential building exploded while they exited.

Russian investigators told TASS that the killing of the senior military officials appeared to be targeted, and the bomb was detonated remotely.

The investigators told TASS that the blast was aimed at the apartment entrance through which Kirillov exited, and the explosive had the power equivalent to around 300 grams of TNT.

A criminal investigation has been initiated and although Russian authorities did not name any suspects in the explosion, it is being treated as a terrorist attack.

On Monday, Ukraine’s main internal security agency, the SBU, convicted Kirillov in absentia for committing war crimes by using “banned chemical weapons” against Ukrainian forces fighting along the eastern and southern fronts. Although the SBU has not officially claimed responsibility for the killing, a Ukrainian law enforcement official anonymously confirmed the agency’s involvement in the purported assassination to Politico. “Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target since he gave orders to use banned chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military…Retribution for war crimes is inevitable,” he said. A similar statement was also shared with CBS News.