Russia’s chemical weapons chief and mouthpiece killed in Moscow
As the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, Igor Kirillov, who was killed in the Moscow bombing, is accused by the West of overseeing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.
In Russia, he is seen as a tireless patriot who fought for the truth and exposed the “crimes” of the West.
Sources in the Ukrainian SBU security service said it was behind the explosion, describing it as a special operation against “war criminals” and legitimate targets.
According to Russian officials, Kirillov and an aide were killed by explosives installed in an electric motorcycle that was blown up as he left his residence on Ryazan Street, southeast of Moscow.
He became notorious for delivering outlandish briefings at the Russian Ministry of Defense, prompting the British Foreign Office to label him the “Russian Defense Minister.” “A key mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”.
More than just a spokesperson, Kirillov served as director of Russia’s Timoshenko Institute of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection and subsequently led the Russian Army’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Corps in 2017.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the unit’s main tasks include identifying dangers and protecting troops from contamination, but also “causing losses to the enemy through the use of flaming means.”
British Foreign Office stated Troops under his command deployed “barbaric chemical weapons” in Ukraine and highlighted what he called the widespread use of riot control agents and “multiple reports of the use of the toxic asphyxiant chloropicrin.”
On the eve of his killing, Ukraine’s State Security Service announced that he was being tried in absentia for the “large-scale use” of banned chemical weapons on Ukraine’s eastern and southern fronts.
The report said that since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, “more than 4,800 incidents of enemy use of chemical munitions” have occurred on Ukrainian territory.
Toxic substances were used in drone strikes and combat grenades, the report said.
Kirillov became notorious from the outset of the war for a series of claims against Ukraine and the West, none of which had any basis in fact.
One of his most outrageous claims was that The United States has been building a biological weapons laboratory in Ukraine. It is being used to justify a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbors in 2022.
He produced documents in March 2022 that he claimed were seized by Russia on the day of the February 24 invasion, which were amplified by pro-Kremlin media but erased by independent experts.
Kirillov’s notorious accusations against Ukraine continued into this year.
Last month he claimed that “one of the priority goals” of Ukraine’s counterattack in Russia’s Kursk border area was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant.
He showed a slide, purportedly based on a Ukrainian report, claiming that in the event of an accident only Russian territory would be contaminated with radioactivity.
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 received specific instructions to build a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. This work is in its final stages.”
His statement was dismissed as “obviously wrong” by Western countries.
But Kirillov’s claims prompted Ukrainian President Zelensky to warn that if Russia suggested that Kiev was preparing such weapons, it could only mean one thing – Russia was already preparing such weapons.
Last summer, Kirillov again raised dirty bomb charges, this time claiming that a chemical weapons laboratory had been discovered near the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka that the Russians captured last February.
He claimed that Kyiv violated the International Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by using a variety of substances with the assistance of Western countries, including the psychochemical warfare agent BZ as well as hydrocyanic acid and cyanogen chloride.
Kirillov’s tragic death shocked Russia’s military and political establishment. The Duma, the Russian parliament, observes a minute’s silence.
Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper house, said Kirillov’s death was an “irreparable loss,” while retired general and lawmaker Andrei Gurulev said Kirillov was killed. Killing will not get a response.
Gurulev said he was responsible for procuring weapons that should only be seen on the battlefield and was well aware of “the criminal activities of the United States and its satellites.”
Pro-Kremlin loyalists also viewed his death not only as a blow but as proof of Ukraine’s ability to target high-profile officials in Moscow.
Some commentators even pointed the finger at the British or Americans. According to Russian war correspondent Sasha Coates, this proves that enemy agents are operating and monitoring people “in our rear areas.”
