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The residential building in Moscow where an explosive device was detonated.Credit...Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Ukraine said it killed a Russian general in Moscow A general in charge of the Russian military’s nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces was killed by a bomb on a Moscow street yesterday. Ukraine said it was responsible for the killing, which was one of the most brazen assassinations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
The general, Igor Kirillov, and an aide were killed when an explosive device was detonated near a residential building, Russian officials said. A day before the killing, Ukraine accused Kirillov of criminal activity, saying he was responsible for the “massive use of banned chemical weapons” in Ukraine. The general was also prominent in Russia’s propaganda campaign against Ukraine and the West. Here’s what else we know about Kirillov.
A senior U.S. official said yesterday that the U.S. had not been informed about the planned assassination. He warned it could end up being counterproductive if it triggered a severe reaction from Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
Background: Ukraine has increasingly carried out deadly covert actions. Last month, Ukraine took credit for a car bombing in Crimea that killed a senior Russian commander.
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North Korea: The U.S. has seen “indications” that the North Korean forces sent to Russia to help in the war in Ukraine have suffered their first casualties.
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