A high-ranking general in the Russian armed forces and his assistant have been killed in Moscow by Ukraine’s security service, a Ukrainian source has told the BBC.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when a device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

A source in Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed Kirillov was “a legitimate target” and alleging he had carried out war crimes.

A source in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) says the agency claims responsibility for the killing of Igor Kirillov, a senior Russian general who had been head of the Russian military’s Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence since 2017.
Authorities in Russia have opened an investigation into the bomb blast in southeastern Moscow that also killed an aide of Kirillov.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Kirillov was a patriot who worked “fearlessly” for “the Motherland” while former President Dmitry Medvedev pledged “imminent revenge” on Ukraine.
Russian legislators have approved legislation requiring the transfer of “foreign agents” funds to special accounts, a move that critics see as a further crackdown on independent voices in the country.
The Ukrainian air force says it has downed 20 Russia-launched drones in an overnight attack.