The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with a terrorist attack in Moscow that killed the head of the Russian Armed Forces' Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov.

According to the ICR, the suspect, born in 1995, is a citizen of Uzbekistan whose name has not been disclosed. However, Telegram channel Baza identified him as Ahmad Kurbanov.

During interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted to being “recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services”, the ICR stated.

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“Following their instructions, he arrived in Moscow and obtained a homemade explosive device. He placed it on an electric scooter parked near the entrance of the residential building where Igor Kirillov lived. To monitor the serviceman’s residence, he rented a car-sharing vehicle equipped with a surveillance camera. Footage from this camera was streamed live to the organizers of the attack in Dnipro. Once the servicemen were seen exiting the building, the explosive device was remotely detonated,” the Investigative Committee said.

A video of the suspect’s interrogation has also surfaced on social media.

The ICR alleges the suspect was promised $100,000 and relocation to a European country in exchange for carrying out the attack.

The Russian Interior Ministry said the suspect was apprehended in the village of Chornoye, near the city of Balashikha in Moscow region.

The embassy of Uzbekistan in Moscow said it had established contact with the Russian law-enforcement bodies and was clarifying the information about the detained.

  • General Igor Kirillov and Ilya Polikarpov were killed in the explosion on 17 December while leaving their residence on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow. Investigators say the explosive device was concealed in the electric scooter near the building’s entrance. The ICR opened criminal cases on charges of murder, terrorism and the illegal circulation of explosives.
  • Reuters and The New York Times, citing sources in Ukrainian intelligence, reported that the assassination of Kirillov was orchestrated by Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). A day before his death, the SSU accused Kirillov in absentia of being responsible for the mass use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces.