Russia detains suspect over murder of chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov

 

Russia detains suspect over murder of chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov

Russia said on Wednesday it had detained an Uzbek man who had confessed to planting and detonating a bomb which killed a top general, Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on the instructions of Ukraine's SBU security service.

Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside his apartment building on Tuesday along with his assistant when a bomb attached to an electric scooter went off.

He is the most senior Russian military officer to be assassinated in Russia by Ukraine. Ukraine's SBU intelligence service took responsibility for the killing after Ukraine accused Kirillov of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops - something Moscow denies.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said in a statement on Wednesday that the unnamed suspect had told them he had come to Moscow to carry out an assignment for Ukraine's intelligence services.

In a video published by the Baza news outlet, which is known to have sources in Russian law-enforcement circles, the suspect is seen sitting in a van describing his actions.

It was not clear under what conditions he was speaking and Reuters could not immediately verify the video's authenticity.

Dressed in a winter coat, the suspect is shown saying he had come to Moscow, bought an electric scooter, and received an improvised explosive device.

He describes placing the device on the electric scooter and parking it outside the apartment block where Kirillov lived. — Reuters

Our Take: Ukraine and the CIA have opened Pandora's Box. They have now established a precedent that could justify targeted attacks against Ukrainians— or even CIA—leaders.

President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov have both asserted that Washington should not assume that Russia wouldn't strike US soil with hypersonic missiles, but I think that threat would also extend to more surgical attacks against bad actors who are trying to manipulate nation states into World War 3.

President Trump's incoming Ukraine Envoy, General Keith Kellogg was asked about this assassination yesterday on Fox News.

"I don’t really think it’s a setback for peace talks. But I would say this. There are rules for warfare and there are certain things you just don’t do. For example, you don’t kill wounded soldiers in the battlefield and you’re not supposed to kill non-combatants. When you kill commanders, senior officers, admirals, or generals in their hometowns, it’s kind of like you extended it and I don’t think it’s really smart to do it. It’s just kind of not the rules of war."

Let's be clear: this murder was not a legitimate act of war. It was an act of terrorism. It was a war crime. And I suspect that it will not go unanswered. Personally, I would like to see President Trump deal with this evil himself, on behalf of Putin and the Russian people. It would be a tremendous act of good will. — GhostofBasedPatrickHenry