Russia has detained an Uzbek man in connection with the murder of a general

The Security Service of Russia reported that a 29-year-old native of Uzbekistan was detained in connection with the murder of senior general Igor Kirillov and his aide in Moscow.

The head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, was outside a residential area on Tuesday morning when an explosive device hidden in a scooter went off remotely.

Russian security services said the unnamed suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, state media reported.

The Security Service of Ukraine has already stated that it is behind the murder, a source told the BBC on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian source said Kirilov, who was the head of Russia’s chemical weapons department, was a “legitimate target” and claimed he had committed war crimes.

On Monday, a day before the murder, Ukraine indicted Kirilov, 54, in absentia, saying he was “responsible for the massive use of banned chemical weapons.” Russia denies these accusations.

The Public Relations Center of the FSB of Russia reported on Wednesday that the detained 29-year-old “is suspected of committing a terrorist attack.”

The statement says that during the interrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services.

The FSB said that the suspect was “guaranteed” a reward of 100,000 dollars and permission to move to the countries of the European Union in exchange for the murder of Kirillov.

They added that he arrived in Moscow on the instructions of Ukraine and received an improvised explosive device.

He installed the explosive device on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance of the apartment building where Kirilov lived, the FSB said.

He then rented a car to monitor Kirillov’s residence and installed a camera that broadcast video from the site to his employees in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

When they saw Kirilov leave the house, the suspect detonated the bomb, the report said.

Kirillov is believed to be the highest-ranking military officer killed in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.

In addition to the accusation from Ukraine, the 54-year-old man was previously sanctioned by Britain for alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine said that under the leadership of the general, Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times.

Moscow denies it, and says it destroyed the last remnants of its vast stockpile of chemical weapons in 2017.

Photos from the scene outside Kirillov’s apartment building in southeast Moscow on Tuesday showed a heavily damaged driveway with burn marks on the walls and a number of broken windows. Two bags with corpses could also be seen on the street.

Also on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said that Russia will raise the issue of Kirillov’s murder at the meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday.

Russian officials have vowed to find and punish those involved in the murder.