Moscow, December 17
A top Russian army general has been killed in a bomb blast outside his apartment in Moscow, hidden in a scooter. The Russian general, identified as Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, has become the victim of criminal charges brought against him by the Security Service of Ukraine just a day before. A Ukrainian official claimed that the attack was carried out by the service. Kirillov headed the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces. An army general’s aide was also killed in the attack. Several countries, including the UK and Canada, imposed sanctions on Kirillov over the Ukraine war. The Security Service of Ukraine had accused Kirillov of ordering the use of banned chemical weapons a day before the attack. – Ap