Russia-Ukraine war live: Kyiv claims responsibility for killing of Russian general in Moscow

By Guardian-Hamish Mackay /Tom Ambrose-Tue 17 Dec 2024 12.15

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment in Moscow after a device inside a scooter detonated. His’s assistant Kirillov also died in the blast, which was triggered by an explosive device placed in a scooter

The day so far

A Russian general in charge of radiation, chemical and biological protection forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow, the country’s investigative committee has said. Lt Gen Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, which starts 7 km (4.35 miles) south-east of the Kremlin. The explosion was caused by a device hidden inside an electric scooter, according to the committee.
Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast, which was triggered by an explosive device placed in a scooter, officials said. Russian investigators have opened a case into the two deaths, the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.
Sources in Kyiv have confirmed that Ukraine’s SBU carried out the killings in Moscow.“We were involved in the operation,” the source told the Guardian.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian leadership would face imminent revenge for the killing of a top Russian general, RIA news agency reported. “Realising the inevitability of its military defeat, it launches cowardly and despicable strikes in peaceful cities,” he said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday appealed to allies to sanction Russia’s so-called shadow fleet carrying illicit oil. Zelenskyy commented on an oil spillage caused by Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Sunday, calling it an “environmental disaster”.
Britain on Tuesday sanctioned 20 ships it said had been carrying illicit Russian oil. “As [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks,” British prime minister Keir Starmer said.
The Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday it had downed 20 Russia-launched drones. It said on the Telegram messenger that Russia launched a total of 31 drones and an additional 10 did not reach their targets. One was still in the air.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin held talks with Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN Trade and Development agency, his ministry said on Tuesday, saying he raised the issue of western barriers to Russian food exports. The “organisation of donations of Russian grain and fertilisers with the assistance of the UN,” was also discussed, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Hannivka in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s state RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the defence ministry. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Russia is boosting its ballistic arsenal with new strategic missile systems, plans maximum-range launches and may increase testing in response to growing external threats, a senior Russian military commander said on Monday. In a clear warning that Russia will respond if it deems its security is threatened, Sergei Karakayev, the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the country plans maximum-range test launches as part of testing new systems, Reuters reported.
The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest US measure aimed at disrupting North Korea’s support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

11m ago12.15 GMT

Andrew Sparrow

As we briefly mentioned earlier, the UK has announced additional support for Ukraine. My colleague Andrew Sparrow has more detail:

Keir Starmer has announced £35m in emergency support for Ukraine to help it repair its energy grid.

In an announcement released as Starmer was attending the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) leader’s summit in Estonia, Downing Street also unveiled fresh sanctions against the “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used by Russia to sell its oil. No 10 said:

The UK has provided £35m of emergency support to help Ukraine repair its energy grid and support the most vulnerable through a third winter of war, the prime minister has announced today.

It comes as the UK also reinforces its iron-clad support for Ukraine by launching fresh sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector. Today’s sanctions target 20 shadow fleet ships carrying illicit Russian oil, including Ocean Faye, Andaman Skies and Mianzimu, which have each carried more than four million barrels of Russian oil in 2024.

Key lynchpins in enabling the trading of Putin’s precious oil, 2Rivers DMCC and 2Rivers PTE LTD have also been slapped with sanctions. These new measures will further drain Putin’s war chest, by clamping down on the oil revenues he so desperately needs to fuel his illegal war and put those who enable Russia’s oil exports on notice.

And Starmer said:

As Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks.

But these systematic attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure will not grind Ukraine down. It will only deepen our resolve and support.

22m ago12.03 GMT

The day so far

A Russian general in charge of radiation, chemical and biological protection forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow, the country’s investigative committee has said. Lt Gen Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, which starts 7 km (4.35 miles) south-east of the Kremlin. The explosion was caused by a device hidden inside an electric scooter, according to the committee.
Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast, which was triggered by an explosive device placed in a scooter, officials said. Russian investigators have opened a case into the two deaths, the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.
Sources in Kyiv have confirmed that Ukraine’s SBU carried out the killings in Moscow.“We were involved in the operation,” the source told the Guardian.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian leadership would face imminent revenge for the killing of a top Russian general, RIA news agency reported. “Realising the inevitability of its military defeat, it launches cowardly and despicable strikes in peaceful cities,” he said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday appealed to allies to sanction Russia’s so-called shadow fleet carrying illicit oil. Zelenskyy commented on an oil spillage caused by Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Sunday, calling it an “environmental disaster”.
Britain on Tuesday sanctioned 20 ships it said had been carrying illicit Russian oil. “As [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks,” British prime minister Keir Starmer said.
The Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday it had downed 20 Russia-launched drones. It said on the Telegram messenger that Russia launched a total of 31 drones and an additional 10 did not reach their targets. One was still in the air.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin held talks with Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN Trade and Development agency, his ministry said on Tuesday, saying he raised the issue of western barriers to Russian food exports. The “organisation of donations of Russian grain and fertilisers with the assistance of the UN,” was also discussed, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Hannivka in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s state RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the defence ministry. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Russia is boosting its ballistic arsenal with new strategic missile systems, plans maximum-range launches and may increase testing in response to growing external threats, a senior Russian military commander said on Monday. In a clear warning that Russia will respond if it deems its security is threatened, Sergei Karakayev, the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the country plans maximum-range test launches as part of testing new systems, Reuters reported.
The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest US measure aimed at disrupting North Korea’s support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

47m ago11.39 GMT

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday appealed to allies to sanction Russia’s so-called shadow fleet carrying illicit oil.

Zelenskyy commented on an oil spillage caused by Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Sunday, calling it an “environmental disaster”.

“But there are even larger and more dangerous Russian tankers operating in your seas. Stopping this fleet is not just about cutting off Russia’s war funding, it’s about protecting nature,” he said on X.

1h ago11.18 GMT

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned 20 ships it said had been carrying illicit Russian oil.

“As [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s oil revenues continue to fuel the fires of his illegal war, Ukrainian families are enduring cold, dark nights, often without heating, light or electricity, targeted by Russia’s relentless missile attacks,” British prime minister Keir Starmer said.

“These sanctions will add further pressure to Putin’s stalling war economy.”

2h ago10.46 GMT

The Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday it had downed 20 Russia-launched drones.

It said on the Telegram messenger that Russia launched a total of 31 drones and an additional 10 did not reach their targets. One was still in the air.

2h ago10.34 GMT

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin held talks with Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN Trade and Development agency, his ministry said on Tuesday, saying he raised the issue of western barriers to Russian food exports.

The “organisation of donations of Russian grain and fertilisers with the assistance of the UN,” was also discussed, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

2h ago10.26 GMT

A view of a scene of an explosion in Moscow, Russia, 17 December 2024. Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

A view of the blast scene, which killed the commander of Russian armed forces' chemical, biological and radiation defence troops, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, outside a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow on 17 December 2024. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Broken window panes are seen at the place where Lt. General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces was killed by an explosive device planted close to a residential apartment's block in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Photograph: AP

2h ago10.14 GMT

Russia is boosting its ballistic arsenal with new strategic missile systems, plans maximum-range launches and may increase testing in response to growing external threats, a senior Russian military commander said on Monday.

In a clear warning that Russia will respond if it deems its security is threatened, Sergei Karakayev, the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the country plans maximum-range test launches as part of testing new systems, Reuters reported.

“In terms of range, there is no place where our missiles cannot reach,” Russia’s RIA state news agency cited Karakayev as telling the Krasnaya Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s official newspaper, in an interview.

He added that Russia may increase the intensity of tests of its advanced missile weapons if external threats grow.

Confirming for the first time publicly that Russia is developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, the Osina, Karakayev said the introduction into combat of Osina and a number of new missile systems is a priority.

He said, without revealing details, that Russia is also completing the development of missile systems akin to its new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as Oreshnik, which president Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia will mass-produce soon.

3h ago09.50 GMT

Ukraine’s SBU tells Guardian it was responsible for killing of Russian general

Luke Harding

Sources in Kyiv have confirmed that Ukraine’s SBU carried out the killings in Moscow.

“We were involved in the operation,” the source told the Guardian.

3h ago09.48 GMT

Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Hannivka in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s state RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the defence ministry.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.

3h ago09.35 GMT

The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program.

The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest US measure aimed at disrupting North Korea’s support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The North Korean banks targeted include Golden Triangle Bank, one of the biggest banks in the north-eastern Rason Special Economic Zone, and Pyongyang-based Korea Mandal Credit Bank, which has representatives throughout China, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

South Korea’s foreign ministry separately said on Tuesday that it has blacklisted 11 individuals and 15 entities linked to illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

3h ago09.10 GMT

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian leadership would face imminent revenge for the killing of a top Russian general, RIA news agency reported.

“Realising the inevitability of its military defeat, it launches cowardly and despicable strikes in peaceful cities,” he said.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, who was chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building in Moscow along with his assistant, Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said earlier on Tuesday.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine said it had killed him.

3h ago09.09 GMT

Pjotr Sauer

Kirillov’s assassination is the latest in a series of targeted attacks on Russian military personnel and pro-Kremlin figures.

However, the significance of his rank and influence is likely to send shockwaves through Russia’s political and military elites.

“The killing of a lieutenant general will be a shock for many,” said a former senior Russian defence official speaking on conditions of anonymity.

The former official added that other senior defence figures are now likely to face enhanced security measures, potentially including round-the-clock protection by members of Russia’s special forces.

“This will definitely cause a stir,” the former official said.

4h ago08.24 GMT

Ukrainian security service claims responsibility for Kirillov killing - reports

The killing of a senior Russian military official, Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on Tuesday was a “special operation” by Ukraine’s SBU security service, a source inside the agency told both the AFP and Reuters news agencies.

“The liquidation of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ radiation, chemical and biological defence troops is a special operation by the SBU,” the source told AFP.

The Guardian has not independently verified this claim.

4h ago08.00 GMT

Investigators work at the blast scene, which killed the commander of Russian armed forces' chemical, biological and radiation defence troops, Igor Kirillov, and his assistant, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, outside a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow on 17 December 2024. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

5h ago07.31 GMT

Head of Russia's nuclear defence forces killed in explosion in Moscow

Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast, which was triggered by an explosive device placed in a scooter, officials said.

Russian investigators have opened a case into the two deaths, the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.

“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” she said in a statement. “Investigative and search activities are being carried out to establish all the circumstances around this crime.”

Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court on 16 December for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that started in February 2022.

Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said that they had recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.

5h ago07.13 GMT

Opening summary

Welcome to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.

A Russian general in charge of radiation, chemical and biological protection forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow, the country’s investigative committee has said.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, which starts 7 km (4.35 miles) south-east of the Kremlin.

The explosion was caused by a device hidden inside an electric scooter, according to the committee. His assistant was also killed, it said.

It comes a day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged the general with using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, according to the Kyiv Independent.