Uzbek man charged in Moscow with killing Russian general in scooter bombing claimed by Ukraine
MOSCOW — An Uzbek citizen accused of acting on behalf of Ukraine has been charged by Russian authorities with this week’s assassination of a senior Russian general and his assistant in an electric scooter bombing claimed by Ukraine’s security services, Russian state media said Thursday.
Akhmadzhon Kurbonov was ordered detained by a Moscow court until at least Feb. 17 in Tuesday’s bombing that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces, the Tass state news agency reported.
Kurbonov was charged with the killings, carrying out a terrorist act and illegally manufacturing explosives, the news agency said.
Kirillov was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow, a day after Ukraine’s security service leveled criminal charges against him. His assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, also was killed.
The brazen street bombing of a top Russian general could reflect Ukraine’s wish to hit Moscow hard before Donald Trump takes office and any negotiations begin.
Kurbonov, previously referred to by news agencies as Akhmad Kurbanov, was detained by Russian security services Wednesday. Shortly after he was detained, Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, which did not identify him, said he was born in 1995 and was recruited by Ukraine’s security service. The Associated Press could not confirm the conditions under which the suspect spoke to the FSB.
The suspect said he had been promised $100,000 and resettlement in a European Union country in exchange for killing Kirillov, according to the FSB.
The agency said that acting on instructions from Ukraine, the suspect picked up a homemade bomb in Moscow, placed it on an e-scooter and parked it at the entrance to Kirillov’s apartment building.
He rented a car to monitor the location and set up a camera that livestreamed the scene to his handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, detonating the bomb when Kirillov left the building, the FSB said.
Russia’s security service says it has detained a citizen from Uzbekistan in the bombing that killed a senior general as he left his Moscow apartment.
Kirillov, 54, was the head of Russia’s Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces. The special troops are tasked with protecting the military from the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment.
He was under sanctions from several countries, including the U.K. and Canada, for his actions in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, opened a criminal investigation against him, accusing him of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.
Russia denied using any chemical weapons in Ukraine and has accused Kyiv of using toxic agents in combat.
An SBU official told the AP on Tuesday that the agency was behind the attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, described Kirillov as a “war criminal and an entirely legitimate target.”
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
