For Ukraine, slain Russian general was chemical weapons ‘villain’

Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian army's chemical, biological and radiological weapons division who regularly accused the West of developing banned weapons in Ukraine, was killed on Tuesday in a brazen assassination in Moscow that has heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

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Lt. Gen. Kirillov, 54, had led Russia's Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence unit since his appointment in 2017, emerging as a prominent figure in Moscow's military establishment through frequent televised briefings where he detailed alleged Western chemical and biological weapons programmes. His unit, while overseeing Russia's chemical warfare capabilities, did not control the country's nuclear arsenal. Russian investigators said Kirillov and his assistant died when an explosive device attached to a scooter detonated outside an apartment building in southeastern Moscow's Ryazansky Avenue on Tuesday morning. The blast shattered windows and severely damaged the building's front entrance, according to witnesses at the scene.