Russia arrests suspect recruited by Ukraine in the murder of General Kirillov
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on December 18 that it had arrested the perpetrator of the terrorist attack that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, Commander of the Russian Army's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces. The suspect is believed to have been recruited by the Ukrainian intelligence agency.
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Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that General Kirillov and his assistant were killed in a bomb explosion in Moscow on the morning of December 17. An official from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed to the New York Times that Ukraine was responsible for the killing.
The FSB statement stated: "Following joint investigative activities with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Investigative Committee, the Russian Federal Security Service identified and detained a citizen of Uzbekistan born in 1995. This suspect detonated a homemade explosive device near a residential building on Ryazanskiy Avenue in Moscow, killing Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov (born in 1970) and his assistant Major IV Polikarpov (born in 1983).
The suspect confessed that he had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence and, on their instructions, traveled to Moscow, picked up a high-powered homemade explosive device and placed it on an electric scooter parked near the entrance to the building where Mr. Kirillov lived. To track the general’s address, the suspect said he rented a car and installed a Wi-Fi camera in it, transmitting images to the masterminds in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian intelligence service promised the Uzbek citizen a reward of $100,000 and a trip to a European Union (EU) country in exchange for killing the Russian serviceman, the statement added.
The FSB said the arrested suspect could face life in prison, and affirmed that Ukrainian intelligence officers involved in organizing the terrorist attack would be hunted down and punished./.