Russian chemical weapons commander and spokesman killed in Moscow

As head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, Igor Kirillov – who died in an explosion in Moscow – was accused by the West of overseeing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In Russia, he was seen as a tireless patriot, fighting for the truth and exposing Western “crimes.”

Sources from the Ukrainian security service SBU said he was behind the explosion and described it as a special operation against a “war criminal” and a legitimate target.

Kirillov and one of his aides were killed by an explosion of explosives planted in an electric motorcycle, according to Russian officials, which exploded as he was leaving the building in which he lived on Ryazansky Prospekt in southeastern Moscow.

He became known for bizarre briefings at the Russian Ministry of Defense, prompting the British Foreign Office to classify him as an agent. “Spokesman for Kremlin disinformation”.

More than just a mouthpiece for his cause, Kirillov headed Russia’s Tymoshenko Academy of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection, before assuming command of the Russian Army’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces in 2017.

The Russian Defense Ministry says the force’s main tasks include identifying risks and protecting units from contamination but also “inflicting losses on the enemy using incendiary means.”

The British Foreign Office said The force he commands deployed “barbaric chemical weapons in Ukraine,” highlighting what he described as the widespread use of riot control and “multiple reports of the use of the toxic choke agent chloropicrin.”

On the eve of his killing, the Ukrainian Security Service announced that he had been named in absentia in a criminal case on charges of “mass use” of banned chemical weapons on the eastern and southern fronts in Ukraine.

She pointed to “more than 4,800 cases in which the enemy used chemical munitions” on Ukrainian territory since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

She added that toxic materials were used in drone attacks as well as in combat grenades.

Kirillov gained notoriety from the beginning of the war with a series of allegations directed toward both Ukraine and the West, none of which were based on facts.

Among his most outrageous claims was that The United States was building biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine. It has been used in an attempt to justify a large-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022.

He submitted documents in March 2022 that he claimed were seized by Russia on the day of the invasion on February 24, which were amplified by pro-Kremlin media but refuted by independent experts.

Kirillov’s notorious allegations against Ukraine continued into this year.

Last month he claimed that “one of the priority objectives” of Ukraine’s counterattack on the Russian border region of Kursk was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant.

He presented a slideshow, allegedly based on a Ukrainian report, claiming that in the event of an accident only Russian territory would be exposed to radioactive contamination.

One of Kirillov’s recurring themes was that Ukraine was seeking to develop a “dirty bomb.”

Two years ago, he claimed that “two organizations in Ukraine have specific instructions for manufacturing the so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stage.”

Western countries rejected his claims as “patently false.”

But Kirillov’s allegations prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to warn that if Russia indicated that Kiev was preparing this type of weapon, it would mean only one thing – that Russia was already preparing it.

Kirillov returned to his claims about the dirty bomb last summer, this time claiming the discovery of a chemical weapons laboratory near the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which the Russians seized last February.

He claimed that Kiev is violating the International Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) with a variety of substances with the help of Western countries, including the chemical psychological warfare agent BZ as well as hydrocyanic acid and cyanogen chloride.

Kirillov’s violent death was a shock to Russia’s military and political establishment. A minute of silence was observed in the Russian Parliament, the Duma.

Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev, said his death was an “irreparable loss,” while retired general and MP Andrei Gorolyov said Kirillov’s killing would not go unanswered.

Gorolyov said he was responsible for purchasing weapons that should only be seen on the battlefield, and he clearly understood “the criminal activities of the United States and its affiliated countries.”

His death is viewed by Kremlin loyalists as not just a blow, but also evidence that Ukraine has the ability to target senior officials in Moscow.

Some commentators even pointed the finger at the British or Americans. According to Russian war correspondent Sasha Kuts, this proves that enemy agents are working and spying on people “in our rear.”