Moscow
\nRussia\u2019s security service says a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been detained over the killing of senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow.
\nLt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.
\nThe Russian security service said the unnamed suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, according to state media agencies.
\nUkraine\u2019s security service had already claimed it was behind the killing, a source told the BBC on Tuesday.
\nThe Ukrainian source said Kirillov – who was Russia\u2019s chemical weapons chief – was \u201ca legitimate target\u201d and alleged he had carried out war crimes.
\nOn Monday, the day before the killing, Ukraine charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, saying he was \u201cresponsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons\u201d. Russia denies the allegations.
\nA Kremlin spokesman said Russian President Vladimir Putin \u201cexpresses deep condolences\u201d over Kirillov\u2019s death, Russian news agency Tass reported.
\nThe Russian Federal Security Service\u2019s (FSB) public relations centre said on Wednesday the detained 29-year-old was \u201csuspected of committing a terrorist act\u201d.
\nA statement said that during \u201cinterrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services\u201d.
\nIn a video published by the FSB, the purported suspect – a dark-haired man wearing handcuffs with what appears to be a visible rip in his coat – speaks directly to the camera.
\nHe appears to say he was offered a reward of $100,000 and permission to move to the European Union in exchange for killing Kirillov.
\nThe FSB added that on Ukraine\u2019s instructions, he arrived in Moscow and received a homemade explosive device.
\nHe placed the explosive device on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lived, the FSB said.
\nHe then rented a car to monitor Kirillov\u2019s residence and installed a camera on the dashboard which livestreamed a video feed to handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the statement added.
\nWhen they saw Kirillov emerge from the house, the suspect was told to press the button and detonate the bomb, the FSB said.
\nIrina Volk, from Russia\u2019s interior ministry, said in a statement on messaging platform Telegram that the suspect had been detained in the village of Chernoye, Balashikha, in the Moscow region, before being \u201ctransferred to investigative bodies\u201d.
\nKirillov is thought to be the most senior military figure assassinated inside Russia since the country invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
\nAlongside being charged by Ukraine, the 54-year-old had previously been sanctioned by the UK over the alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
\nUkraine\u2019s SBU security service has claimed Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times under the general\u2019s leadership.
\nMoscow denies this, and says it destroyed the last remainder of its vast chemical weapons stockpile in 2017.
\nPictures from the scene outside Kirillov\u2019s apartment block in south-eastern Moscow on Tuesday showed the badly damaged entrance, with scorch marks on the walls and a number of windows blown out. Two body bags could also be seen on the street.
\nAlso on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would raise Kirillov\u2019s assassination at the meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday.
\nRussian officials have vowed to find and punish those involved in the killing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow Russia\u2019s security service says a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been detained over the killing of senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow. Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450109,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-450284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n