Russia arrests Uzbekistani citizen over General Igor Kirillov’s assassination, says suspect confessed to working with Ukrainian intelligence
A 29-year-old Uzbekistani national has been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces. Shortly after the attack, Ukrainian intelligence claimed responsibility. A video of the suspect’s interrogation, released to Russian state media by the FSB, shows him confessing to planting a bomb on orders from Ukrainian intelligence in exchange for promises of $100,000 and a European passport. Here’s what we know so far about the main suspect in the latest in a series of assassinations targeting prominent supporters of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on internationally recognized Russian territory.
Russian investigators announced the arrest of a suspect in the assassination of Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military’s radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces. Kirillov and an aid were killed in Moscow on Tuesday when a bomb went off outside the general’s home.
The name of the suspect, identified as a 29-year-old Uzbekistani citizen, has not been released by officials. According to the Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service (FSB), he was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, who allegedly promised him $100,000 and relocation to the E.U. in exchange for planting the bomb.
Investigators said the suspect traveled to Moscow, where he received a homemade explosive device that he later placed on an electric scooter parked outside Kirillov’s residence on Ryazansky Prospekt.
“To monitor the serviceman’s residence, the suspect rented a car-sharing vehicle and installed a surveillance camera inside. The live feed was streamed to the organizers of the terrorist attack in Dnipro. When the video showed the servicemen leaving the building, the explosive device was remotely detonated,” the Investigative Committee stated.
The FSB later released a video of the suspect’s interrogation, during which he appeared to confess to the crime. On camera, he stated:
“I came to Moscow on orders from Ukrainian intelligence. I arrived, then bought a scooter. A few months later, I received the bomb components. Then, we prepared everything and placed [the bomb] near the building where the general lived. When he left the building, I pressed the button. Why did I do it? They offered me $100,000 and a European passport.”
The Telegram channels Shot and Baza reported that the suspect’s name is Akhmad Kurbanov. According to the channels, he had been living in the city of Balashikha, near Moscow, and was arrested in the nearby village of Chernoe. Kurbanov had reportedly worked at a teahouse in Moscow in 2015 before returning to Uzbekistan.
Earlier reports from several media outlets, citing unnamed sources, indicated that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack. A source told Kommersant that law enforcement tracked the suspects shortly after the crime using surveillance footage that showed two suspicious vehicles. The publication reported that the organizers recruited the perpetrators via messaging apps and provided them with a contact in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).
Kirillov was assassinated just one day after the SBU named him as a suspect in a war crimes case, accusing him of overseeing the “mass use of chemical weapons against the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” Hours after the attack, multiple media outlets, citing “sources in the intelligence services” reported that the SBU was behind the assassination.
On December 18, the Kremlin commented on Kirillov’s assassination for the first time, blaming the attack on the “Kyiv regime.” “Of course, we know who ordered this terrorist attack, and we are fighting against those behind it, fighting against this Nazi regime, and we will continue to do so,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
