Head of Russia’s nuclear protection forces killed in an explosion

The top of Russia’s Nuclear, Organic, and Chemical Defence Forces, Lt. Basic Igor Kirillov, was killed early Tuesday by an explosive machine planted near a residential house block in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee mentioned.

Kirillov’s assistant additionally died within the blast, which was triggered by an explosive machine positioned in a scooter, officers mentioned.

Russian investigators have opened a case into the 2 deaths, the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko mentioned.

“Investigators, forensic consultants and operational companies are working on the scene,” she mentioned in a press release. “Investigative and search actions are being carried out to determine all of the circumstances round this crime.”

Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian courtroom Monday for the usage of banned chemical weapons throughout Russia’s army operation in Ukraine that began in Feb. 2022.

Ukraine’s Safety Service, the SBU, mentioned that they’d recorded greater than 4,800 makes use of of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, significantly Ok-1 fight grenades.

Throughout the virtually 3-year operation, Russia has made small-but-steady territorial features to the practically one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.