The Kremlin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of committing a “terrorist attack” by killing a Russian general and his aide in Moscow, in its first comments since the bomb blast.
“It is now obvious who ordered this terrorist attack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, more than 24 hours after the attack claimed by Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military’s chemical and biological forces, was killed with his assistant early Tuesday after an explosive device went off outside his Moscow apartment.
“It is once again confirmed that the Kyiv regime does not shy away from terrorist methods,” Peskov told reporters.
Russian investigators announced a day later that they arrested a suspect accused of terrorism who allegedly claimed to be recruited by the Ukrainian special forces. Peskov praised Russia’s security services and law enforcement agencies for their “fast and effective work.”
In a series of anonymous comments to media outlets, Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed responsibility for what it called a “special operation” against the “war criminal” Kirillov. The day before his death, Ukraine pressed criminal charges against Kirillov over the use of banned chemical weapons during the Russian invasion.
Peskov said Kirillov’s death served as “proof” that Moscow was right to invade Ukraine in 2022, a move that has been widely condemned by the international community and made Russia one of the world’s most sanctioned countries.
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