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Ukraine's security service confirms it was behind assassination of Russian general

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A Russian lieutenant general accused of using banned chemicals on Ukrainian soldiers was assassinated today in Moscow. It is the highest-profile killing of a Russian military official outside the front line. A source from inside Ukraine's security service says that they were behind the attack, which involved an exploding scooter. NPR's Joanna Kakissis reports from Kyiv.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Igor Kirillov oversaw chemical, biological and nuclear warfare for Russia. The United Kingdom sanctioned the lieutenant general in October, saying he was responsible for deploying chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers. The same month, Kirillov denied this. He told Russian lawmakers that Ukraine was the one using chemical weapons.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

IGOR KIRILLOV: (Through interpreter) Let me remind you that our country destroyed all stockpiles of chemical weapons in September 2017, and this was done ahead of schedule.

KAKISSIS: On Monday, Ukrainian prosecutors accused the general of war crimes. They said he authorized the use of ammunition with toxic chemicals on Ukrainian troops in an effort to force them out of trenches. Today, Kirillov and his assistant stood at the entrance to a residential building in Moscow, where Russian media say Kirillov lived. Nearby was an electric scooter strapped with hidden explosives. Someone detonated them remotely, killing both Kirillov and the assistant.

A source within Ukraine's security service told NPR that it was behind the killing. The source spoke under condition of anonymity because this person is not allowed to release the information. Ukraine's security service says Russia has used chemical agents on Ukrainian soldiers nearly 5,000 times. Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk told reporters at a briefing last week about the effects of those chemical attacks.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ARTEM VLASIUK: (Through interpreter) Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 2,000 soldiers have been sent to medical facilities with various degrees of poisoning by chemical agents, including banned agents.

KAKISSIS: Meanwhile, in Moscow, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's security council, called the general's killing a terrorist attack. Writing on the Telegram social media app, he vowed that Ukrainian leaders would face retribution for the assassination.

Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Joanna Kakissis is a foreign correspondent based in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she reports poignant stories of a conflict that has upended millions of lives, affected global energy and food supplies and pitted NATO against Russia.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.