A senior Russian military official was killed in an explosion on Tuesday morning near a residential building in southeastern Moscow, as announced by the Russian Investigative Committee, responsible for major investigations in the country.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Forces, was killed near a residential building on Ryazansky Prospect, about seven kilometers southeast of the Kremlin.
The committee stated in a report, "An explosive device placed in a parked scooter near the entrance of a residential building exploded on the morning of December 17 on Ryazansky Street in Moscow.
The Russian Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces are special units that operate in cases of nuclear, chemical, and biological contamination.
The building's entrance suffered significant damage, and the windows of many apartments were shattered, as shown in photos published by Russian media.
The Russian Investigative Committee indicated that "a criminal investigation has been opened into the assassination of the military officers in Moscow.
Investigators were sent to the scene while investigations are underway to determine "all the circumstances" of the incident, according to the same source.
In October, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Igor Kirillov, who has held his position since April 2017, accusing him of "deploying brutal chemical weapons in Ukraine.
His death comes amid the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine that began in February 2022.