Transcription
We start with some breaking news out of Moscow, where a bomb hidden in an electric scooter has killed a senior Russian general. That's according to Russia's investigative committee. The blast on Monday morning took place outside of an apartment block a few kilometers from the Kremlin. Lieutenant General Igor Kilo and an assistant were killed. Kilo was the head of Russia's nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces. Ukraine's Security Services just yesterday charged Kilo with using banned chemical weapons during Russia's war efforts. Moscow authorities say a criminal investigation into the apparent killing has been opened.
Let's bring in Yuri Retto, DW's RBU Chief. Yuri, what else do we know so far?
Well, as you said, an explosion happened on Ranski Avenue, Ranski Prospect, in Moscow on the morning of December 17th. Earlier, the Russian investigative committee said that the two men were killed in this incident. The two Russian servicemen were leaving the entrance of a house on this Ranski Prospect around 6:00 in the morning when a homemade bomb device detonated. According to media reports, the bomb was either attached to or embedded in a scooter. The explosion blew out windows from the first to the third floors of the house and damaged the entrance door. According to media reports, the General's car was also damaged.
Now, who was Kilo, and what exactly was his job?
Well, Kilo was the head, as you mentioned, of the radiation, chemical, and biological defense forces, or protection forces, of the Russian Armed Forces. Kilo is known for holding briefings for the Russian Defense Ministry since 2023, in which, among other things, he spoke about some sort of so-called military biological activities of the United States in Ukraine. The press spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Zaharova, has already condemned his death and praised him in particular as someone who, she said, exposed, and I quote, "the crimes of the Anglo-Saxons and NATO provocations with the alleged U.S. bio-weapons laboratories in Ukraine." It should be noted that Russian propaganda has been trying for years to convince the Russian population that the USA allegedly maintains deadly chemical bio-weapons facilities in Ukraine in an attempt to justify its own war there.
Now, any idea who might be behind this apparent attack?
Well, as you said, the investigative committee has opened a criminal case regarding the incident. The Moscow prosecutor's office has taken the case under control. No one has claimed responsibility for the crime, and there are also no concrete leads, so we should be very careful about pointing fingers. Of course, in times of war, people tend to blame the other side when it comes to the murder, especially of such an important general, which would be Ukraine in the war between Russia and Ukraine. But as I said, we have to be careful and at least wait for the first results of the investigation.
In any case, what comes to mind is a similar explosion two years ago near Moscow. Daria Dugina, the daughter of the influential right-wing nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, was killed back then in a car explosion. There was another explosion in St. Petersburg a year later in a café, where a well-known Russian military blogger was killed, and at least 25 other guests were injured.
Thank you very much, Yuri Retto, for your reporting.