Russian general responsible for chemical weapons in the fight against the Ukrainian Armed Forces killed

Early in the morning, on December 17, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, who was responsible for chemical weapons in the fight against the Ukrainian army in the south, was killed in an explosion. He was killed by an improvised explosive device in Moscow.

According to telegram channels, an explosion occurred in the Russian capital just as the general and his driver were leaving the house, and they died on the spot. According to preliminary data, the explosive device was attached to a nearby electric scooter. Subsequently, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation officially confirmed the death of Kirillov and his assistant.

"According to the investigation, on the morning of December 17, an explosive device was detonated on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow, which was placed in a scooter standing next to the entrance of a residential building. As a result of the incident, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant were killed," the statement said.

Only a day before Kirillov's death, on December 16, the Security Service of Ukraine served him with a notice of suspicion in absence, the SBU said .

It was established that he was responsible for the use of chemical weapons by Russian troops on the eastern and southern fronts against Ukrainian defenders.

Among these dangerous shells are K-1 combat grenades filled with irritant chemical agents, CS and CN. This type is prohibited by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction of January 13, 1993. The occupiers mainly used chemical weapons in the form of drops from FPV drones on military locations. This forced them to leave the trenches and come under direct fire. The Russians used chemical agents mostly in the hottest areas of the fighting to hide it under heavy artillery fire.

Due to the use of chemical weapons, more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been hospitalized with poisoning since the winter of 2022.

"Based on the evidence collected, the SBU investigators served Kirillov a notice of suspicion in absence under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crime committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons)," the SBU said.

Ірина Глухова