Russian general killed in Ukrainian “special operation,” Kyiv source says

PHOTO CAPTION: A view shows a scene of an explosion in which, according to Russia's investigative committee, Russian general Igor Kirillov, in charge of nuclear protection forces, and his assistant were killed, in Moscow, Russia December 17, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) -The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) killed Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov in a special operation in Moscow on Tuesday, a source in the agency told Reuters.

Reuters could not independently verify the claim. The source said Kyiv regarded Kirillov as a war criminal and an "absolutely legitimate target", accusing him of ordering the use of prohibited chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces in the war.

"The liquidation of the chief of the radiation and chemical protection troops of the Russian Federation is the work of the SBU," the source said.

The source said that a scooter containing explosives was detonated when Kirillov and his assistant entered the entrance of a building on the Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow. Both were killed, the source added.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Alex Richardson)