Moscow says arrested Uzbek national behind assassination of Russian general

The detainee is a 29-year-old Uzbek citizen who was recruited by Ukraine’s intelligence services and promised a $100,000 reward and a trip to an EU country, according to the press office of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

“The FSB, in collaboration with the Russian Interior Ministry and the Russian Investigative Committee, conducted joint operational and investigative actions. As a result, they identified and detained a 1995-born Uzbek national who detonated a homemade explosive device near a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow, killing Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, born in 1970, and his assistant, Major Polikarpov, born in 1983,” the press office said.

“The terrorist confessed to being recruited by Ukrainian intelligence. He was sent to Moscow on their orders, where he received a powerful improvised explosive device and placed it on an electric scooter, which he parked near the entrance to Kirillov’s residence. To monitor the address, he rented a car-sharing vehicle and installed a Wi-Fi video camera, which broadcasted live to organizers in Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk),” the FSB explained.

After receiving a video feed showing the officers leaving the building, the explosive device was remotely detonated.

“The Ukrainian intelligence services promised the Uzbek citizen $100,000 and a trip to a European Union country for the assassination of the Russian defense official,” the press office added.

The detainee has been transferred to the Russian Investigative Committee to document his criminal actions within the framework of the criminal case, which includes charges under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code (Terrorist Act), Article 105 (Murder), Article 222.1 (Illegal Storage of Explosives and Explosive Devices), and Article 223.1 (Illegal Manufacture of Explosives and Explosive Devices). “He faces potential life imprisonment for these crimes,” the FSB stated. “Employees of the Ukrainian intelligence services involved in organizing the terrorist attack will also be located and punished,” the press office concluded.