TThe killing of a Russian general in a bombing outside his compound in Moscow was the assassination of a top military official and brought war in Ukraine to the streets of the capital.
Some things to know about the attack and its alleged mastermind:
What's going on?
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday morning by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter parked near the door of his house in southeast Moscow while he was on his way to his office. Kirillov's aide was also killed in the attack.
The bomb was detonated remotely, according to Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB. The explosion was captured on video from a camera installed inside the car, showing men exiting the building with the fire burning.
Who were the victims?
Kirillov, 54, was an officer in the Russian Radiation, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces. These special forces are tasked with protecting the military from the enemy's use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment.
He was under sanctions from several countries, including the UK and Canada, for his actions in Moscow's war in Ukraine. On Monday, Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, opened a criminal investigation against him, accusing Kirillov of directing the use of banned chemical weapons.
Russia has denied using chemical weapons in Ukraine and has accused Kyiv of using them.
Kirillov, who took over in 2017, was one of the most senior figures to weigh in on those allegations. He has held numerous forums accusing Ukraine's military of using toxic agents and planning radioactive attacks – claims Kyiv and its Western allies have dismissed as propaganda.
His aide, Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed in the attack.
Who said he was responsible?
An SBU official on Tuesday said the agency was responsible for the attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release information, described Kirillov as “a war criminal and a legitimate target.”
An SBU official provided a video of the bombing.
Who is arrested?
The FSB said on Wednesday it had arrested the suspect, described as a citizen of Central Asia, Uzbekistan born in 1995. The news agency Tass and RIA-Novosti identified him as Akhmad Kurbanov.
According to the FSB, the suspect said he was employed by the Ukrainian special services. The Associated Press could not confirm the circumstances under which the suspect spoke to the security forces.
The FSB said the suspect said he was promised $100,000 and resettlement in a European Union country to kill Kirillov.
The agency said that following instructions from Ukraine, the suspect went to Moscow, where he found a homemade bomb, placed it on an e-scooter and parked it at the door of Kirillov's building.
The suspect hired a surveillance vehicle and set up a camera that broadcast the scene to his staff in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, detonating the bomb as Kirillov left the building, the FSB said.
The suspect is facing a life sentence, the FSB said.
Russian media reports said the FSB tracked down the suspect by reading video from cameras and cellphones.
What is still unknown?
The FSB has not said how the suspect was recruited. He was arrested in a village near Moscow, Interior Ministry official Irina Volk told Tass.
It is not known where he is being held and when he will appear in court. That is expected in the coming days, to hear the terms of his arrest before the trial. Under Russian law, a person can be held in custody for only 48 hours before a court decision is issued.
What does Russia say about the attack?
Russian officials described the bombing as a “terrorist act.”
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was “clear” that Ukraine was responsible for Kirillov's murder, and his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kyiv “does not shy away from terrorist methods.”
Although President Vladimir Putin has not yet spoken publicly about the attack, Peskov said he expressed his grief over Kirillov's death.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Head of Russia's Security Council, described the attack as an attempt by Kyiv to distract public attention from its military failures and vowed that “its top military and political leadership will face inevitable punishment.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, called Kirillov “a trained military man, an intellectual, a patriot of Russia.”
“He did a lot to increase the effectiveness of the radiation, chemical and biological defense forces, to ensure the security and sovereignty of our country,” said Volodin.
— Illia Novikov from Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
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