Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces, was killed on Tuesday morning in a bomb explosion outside a residential building in Moscow. Kirillov’s deputy also perished in the blast.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the explosive device was concealed in a scooter parked near the entrance of a building on Ryazansky Avenue. The bomb detonated as Kirillov and his deputy approached the site, leading to their deaths.

“An explosive device planted in a scooter parked near the entrance of a residential building was activated on the morning of December 17 on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow,” stated the Committee, which oversees major criminal investigations in Russia.

Images published by Russian media revealed extensive damage caused by the explosion, with shattered windows and a destroyed front entrance to the building.

Svetlana Petrenko, the committee’s spokesperson, confirmed that investigators have launched a criminal case into the deaths.

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

The attack occurred just one day after Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court for allegedly using banned chemical weapons during Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Ukraine’s Security Service claimed that over 4,800 instances of chemical weapon usage, particularly K-1 combat grenades, have been documented since the start of the conflict.