Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces, tragically died in an explosion on Tuesday morning. The blast, which also took the life of his aide, happened near a residential building in Moscow’s southeast. Investigators believe the explosion was caused by a bomb hidden in a scooter.
Kirillov was a high-ranking military officer who had been involved in some of Russia’s most sensitive and controversial operations. From 2014 to 2017, he led the Military Academy of the RChBZ. Then, in 2017, he became the chief of the entire RChBZ force, which is responsible for protecting Russia from chemical, biological, and radiological threats.
He gained widespread attention for his work in anti-terrorism, both in Russia and abroad. Kirillov was a vocal critic of the White Helmets, a volunteer organization in Syria, accusing them of staging provocations. He was also involved in responding to natural disasters and man-made emergencies.
As the war in Ukraine began in 2022, Kirillov became a key spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Defense, sharing information about Ukraine’s supposed use of biological and chemical weapons. In March 2022, he claimed that Ukraine was studying ways to spread dangerous diseases through migratory birds. He also accused Ukraine of operating biological labs funded by the Pentagon.
In June 2024, Kirillov made another startling claim: he said Ukraine was importing spent nuclear fuel and chemical waste to create a “dirty bomb” – a weapon that could spread radiation. He even suggested that these materials were being moved through Poland and Romania, under the supervision of high-ranking Ukrainian officials.
Kirillov’s accusations didn’t stop there. In October 2024, the UK slapped him with sanctions after he accused Ukraine of planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack to discredit Russia. He argued that NATO had sent Ukraine far more chemical protection gear than it needed, suggesting that this was part of a larger, hidden plan.
Just a month later, in November 2024, Kirillov made headlines again, claiming that Ukraine was preparing to seize a nuclear power plant during a major military operation in Russia’s Kursk region.
But his career came to a sudden and violent end. One day after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) named him a suspect in the alleged use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, Kirillov was killed in the scooter bombing. He had denied Ukraine’s accusations, insisting that Russia had destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles in 2017, as confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The circumstances surrounding Kirillov’s death remain unclear, and many are wondering whether his killing was linked to the accusations against him. Could Ukraine have been behind the attack? Or was it part of a larger, more mysterious plot? Only time will tell, but this explosion has certainly raised more questions than answers.
