Ukrainian security services have killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces in Moscow today, intelligence sources in Kyiv have claimed.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt after a bomb hidden in an electric scooter detonated.
In a statement to the Financial Times, an intelligence source described Kirillov as a “completely legitimate target”.
He was sanctioned by Britain in October for his battlefield involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the investigative committee said.
Photographs posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a shattered entrance to a building littered with rubble and two bodies lying in the blood-stained snow.
His death comes a day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged him with the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine war.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said the Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge for the “cowardly and despicable strikes”, the RIA state news agency reported.
Key Points
- Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge - Medvedev
- Ukraine claims responsibility for assassination of Russian nuclear general in Moscow
- Who was Igor Kirillov, senior Russian general killed
- UK-sanctioned Russian general killed in Moscow explosion
- Russian soldiers killed by North Korean troops, Kyiv says
Two injured in Russian strike on civilian car, says Ukraine
09:50
Alex Croft
Two people have been injured after Russia struck a civilian car in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, the region’s military administration said.
Russian forces dropped explosives on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), injuring a 51-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman.
The pair were both diagnosed with blast and craniocerebral injuries, concussion and shrapnel wounds. They have been taken to hospital for treatment, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Watch: Aftermath as Russian general killed in Moscow explosion
09:36
Alex Croft
Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge - Medvedev
09:21
Alex Croft
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president of Russia, said the Ukrainian leadership faces imminent revenge for killing a top Russian general, according to RIA state news agency.
"Realising the inevitability of its military defeat, it launches cowardly and despicable strikes in peaceful cities," Medvedev said.
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine has claimed Kyiv was responsible for the killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops.
Watch live: Police swarm Moscow after Russian general killed in Ukraine-claimed attack
09:05
Tom Watling
Electric scooter fitted with bomb pictured at site of Moscow assassination
08:47
Tom Watling
Who was Igor Kirillov, senior Russian general killed by bombing in Moscow?
08:33
Tom Watling
Ukraine responsible for Moscow killing, claims intelligence source
08:21
Tom Watling
Ukraine was behind the killing of Russian commander Igor Kirillov, an intelligence source in Kyiv has told the Financial Times.
The source said the SBU, Ukraine’s security service, was behind the killing and his assistant. The source said the general “was a war criminal and a completely legitimate target”.
In pictures: Civilians gather around site of Russian commander explosion
08:03
Tom Watling
EU slaps sanctions on dozens more Russian officials and targets its shadow oil and gas fleet
07:45
Arpan Rai
Mapped: Where Putin’s forces are making gains in eastern Ukraine
07:21
Alexander Butler
UK sanctioned Russian general killed in Moscow explosion
06:55
Arpan Rai
A bomb hidden in an electric scooter killed a senior Russian general in charge of the country’s nuclear protection forces in Moscow this morning, Russia’s investigative committee said.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, which is located around 7km (4miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
He was sanctioned by Britain in October, along with the nuclear protection forces for using riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin on the battlefield.
“Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed,” the investigative committee said.
Photographs posted on Russian Telegram channels showed a shattered entrance to a building littered with rubble and two bodies lying in the blood-stained snow.
He was charged by Ukrainian prosecutors yesterday in absentia with the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine said.
Russia must be ready to fight Nato in next decade, minister says
06:19
Arpan Rai
Russia’s defence minister has said Moscow must be ready to fight the Nato military alliance in Europe in the next decade, as president Vladimir Putin said he believed the Ukraine war was turning in his country’s favour.
Andrei Belousov, Mr Putin’s defence chief, cited a Nato summit in July, military doctrines in the US, and other members of the grouping as evidence that Moscow had to prepare for direct conflict with a more assertive Nato in the coming years.
“The activities of the ministry of defence are based on ... ensuring full readiness for any scenario in the medium term, including a possible military conflict with Nato in Europe in the next decade,” Mr Belousov told an audience, which included Mr Putin, at his ministry.
Mr Belousov set out a raft of changes and reforms that he said were needed, “taking into account the nature of future military conflicts”.
Damaged Russian ships spilled an estimated 3,700 tons of oil in Kerch Strait, state media says
06:00
Tom Watling
Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, reports say
05:51
Arpan Rai
A bomb killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces and another man in Moscow, the RT state media group said today, citing an unidentified law enforcement source.
Russian media said the that Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt.
Russian news Telegram channels also reported that Kirillov had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the killing.
TASS state news agency said two people were killed in an explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt.
A criminal investigation was opened in connection with the death of two men on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia‘s RIA state news agency reported, citing Moscow investigators.
Starmer tells allies to boost Ukraine support as defence tax suggested
05:46
Arpan Rai
Sir Keir Starmer has said allies must double down on support for Ukraine, as pressure grows on the UK to boost defence spending.
It comes just hours after Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur issued a stark warning to allies that spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence is simply not enough.
He urged allies to act immediately to boost funding, suggesting one possible method would be to introduce a security tax – something Estonia will be implementing from the new year.
Zelensky shares video of dead North Korean soldiers in battlefield
05:17
Arpan Rai
President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video which he said showed Russian soldiers attempting to conceal the identities of dead North Korean servicemen by burning their faces.
Over the weekend, he said that Russia was using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults in Kursk region in southern Russia.
The video posted by Mr Zelensky appeared to show the bodies of North Korean soldiers lying dead in positions where they had been killed. It then showed what appeared to be soldiers setting fire to parts of their bodies on snowy ground.
“Russia is not only involving North Korean soldiers in assaults against Ukrainian positions but is also trying to conceal the losses of these individuals,” the president wrote.
“And now, after battles with our soldiers, the Russians are even attempting to... literally burn the faces of the dead North Korean troops. This is a demonstration of the contempt that now prevails in Russia, a contempt for everything humane.”
Serbia's main gas supplier that is controlled by Russia faces US sanctions, president says
05:00
Tom Watling
White House says North Korea suffering ‘significant losses’
04:42
Arpan Rai
North Korean troops fighting inside Russia’s Kursk region have suffered “significant” troop losses, the US said, supporting reports from Ukrainian intelligence.
A White House official said North Korean troops were being moved forward to the frontline, having previously operated deeper inside Russian territory.
“We do believe that they have suffered some significant losses, killed and wounded, but it’s difficult for me to put an actual number on it. I would say, certainly in the realm of dozens, several dozens,” national security communications adviser John Kirby said.
His comments support claims by Ukraine’s military spy agency that at least 30 North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded over the weekend, the first report of North Korean losses in the Ukraine war.
Ukrainian intelligence officials earlier said around 200 Russian and North Korean soldiers were estimated to have been killed while fighting in combined units against Ukrainian forces.
North Korean forces were first sighted in the Kursk region in October and there have been sporadic claims of clashes and casualties since then, though no tallies have been reported.
Ukraine estimates there are 11,000 North Koreans in total operating in Russia near the frontline.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where Putin’s forces are making gains in eastern Ukraine
03:58
Arpan Rai
Ukraine is battling against a “prevailing” Russia in the eastern Donetsk region, Kyiv’s military chief has admitted, as Vladimir Putin’s forces look to secure as much territory as possible before US president-elect Donald Trump re-enters the White House.
Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi described the fighting as “extremely tough” as he was pictured visiting the Pokrovsk area in Donetsk, where Russian forces have advanced to within just a few miles of the city’s outskirts.
The area is a linchpin of the wider region’s defence and war trackers have expressed concern that should it fall, it could pave the way for Russia to seize swathes of more territory.
The Independent looks at the flashpoints of the frontline, and why some believe these losses will continue unless Ukraine’s military undergoes major changes.
Russia shadow fleet to be checked for insurance in English Channel and Baltic Sea
03:38
Arpan Rai
A group of Western countries will begin to check insurance documents of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels in the English Channel, Danish straits, Gulf of Finland and the sound between Sweden and Denmark, Estonia’s government said yesterday.
The measure was agreed between the governments of Britain, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Poland and Estonia, the Baltic nation’s government said in a statement.
Starmer urges Western allies to send more support to Ukraine
03:20
Arpan Rai
Sir Keir Starmer has said Western allies must double down support for Ukraine, as the war enters its third winter since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Speaking in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, at a meeting on military investment, Sir Starmer noted what ‘little regard’ Russian leaders have shown for human life.
Sir Starmer noted that Russia remains able to ‘backfill its military capability’ in ways that Kyiv’s forces cannot without western aid.
Back in September, the BBC reported that more than 70,000 people in the Russian military had already died fighting in Ukraine.
Ukraine reports North Korean losses in combat in Kursk region
03:11
Arpan Rai
At least 30 soldiers of North Korean units fighting for Russia have been killed or wounded around several villages on the front in Russia’s Kursk region over the weekend, Ukraine’s HUR military spy agency said.
This marks the first official confirmation of North Korean losses in the Ukraine war. The casualties occurred around the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka in the Kursk region but the Ukrainian officials have not shared evidence yet.
“Due to the losses, the assault groups are being replenished with fresh personnel, in particular from the 94th separate brigade of the DPRK army, to continue active combat operations in Kursk region,” the Ukrainian agency wrote.
Kyiv first said North Korean forces turned up in Kursk region in October and later reported unspecified clashes and casualties. It estimates there are 11,000 North Koreans in total, adding to a force of tens of thousands of Russians.
Trump calls Biden’s move ‘stupid’ to let Ukraine hit Russia with US missiles
03:00
Arpan Rai
President-elect Donald Trump suggested that he may reverse president Joe Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use American long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Asked if he would consider reversing the Biden administration decision, Mr Trump responded: “I might. I think it was a very stupid thing to do.”
He also expressed anger that his incoming administration was not consulted before Mr Biden made the move. With the loosening of the restrictions, Biden gave Ukraine long-sought permission to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) provided by the US to strike Russian positions hundreds miles from its border.
Ukraine claims North Korean troops were killed as they fought alongside Russian forces
03:00
Tom Watling
Capitol rioter who tried to join Russian army is sentenced to prison for probation violation
02:00
Tom Watling
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
01:00
Tom Watling
Why we should all be drinking Ukrainian wine (yes, really)
00:00
Tom Watling
EU adds Niels Troost to Russia sanctions list
Monday 16 December 2024 23:00
Tom Watling
The EU has added Niels Troost, the businessperson controlling Paramount Energy and Commodities DMCC, to its Russia sanctions list on Monday, according to a document published online.
The EU said Paramount “repeatedly traded Russian oil above the oil price cap after its introduction” in the document. Paramount was sanctioned by the UK in November 2023.
What will it cost to defend Britain from a growing Russian threat?
Monday 16 December 2024 22:00
Tom Watling
EU slaps sanctions on dozens more Russian officials and targets its shadow oil and gas fleet
Monday 16 December 2024 21:00
Tom Watling
Where Putin’s forces are making gains on the frontline in east Ukraine
Monday 16 December 2024 20:00
Tom Watling
Damaged Russian ships spilled an estimated 3,700 tons of oil in Kerch Strait, state media says
Monday 16 December 2024 19:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine claims North Korean troops were killed as they fought alongside Russian forces
Monday 16 December 2024 18:00
Tom Watling
Capitol rioter who tried to join Russian army is sentenced to prison for probation violation
Monday 16 December 2024 17:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine blames Russia for Black Sea oil spill
Monday 16 December 2024 16:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine said on Monday Russia was to blame for a major oil spill in the Kerch Strait that leads into the Black Sea, accusing Moscow of breaking navigation safety rules by using old tankers and keeping two vessels at sea during a storm.
A Russian oil tanker split apart during a storm on Sunday, while another one ended up in distress in the strait that separates Russia from the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow’s troops seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Russia did not say how much fuel was leaked but its state news agency TASS reported the two vessels had been carrying 9,200 metric tons of oil products.
“The Russians have a rather complicated situation... in the Azov and the Black Sea region. They use an outdated fleet: these ships were more than 50 years old,” Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine‘s navy, told Reuters by phone. The vessel that was torn apart, the Volgoneft 212, dates back to 1969 and the Volgoneft 239 was built in 1973, according to certificates seen by Reuters.
Pletenchuk said the vessels in the accident were designed to transfer oil products along rivers and load them onto other vessels at sea and were not meant to be used in stormy weather. The two vessels had earlier turned off their AIS identification system, a global naval navigation system, making it impossible to identify their locations using satellites, he added.
In Pictures: Ukrainians take part in medical exercises near the frontline
Monday 16 December 2024 15:28
Tom Watling
Admiral says hybrid war is biggest challenge in Baltic
Monday 16 December 2024 15:00
Tom Watling
Russia is disrupting mobile communications and ship-tracking data across the Baltic Sea, endangering vessels and energy supplies to test how Western powers will respond, a Polish admiral overseeing the area said.
Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski said Moscow was systematically using such tactics to hide the movements of its own vessels and disrupt the operations of others in the sea which is bordered by eight Nato countries and Russia.
“Hybrid war in the Baltic is the biggest challenge we are facing,” Jaworski told Reuters in an interview last week, referring to the practise of launching conventional attacks alongside attempts to disrupt politics, energy supplies and other systems.
“We are talking about aggressive behaviour by Russia. They are trying to disrupt our lives,” Jaworski, commander of Poland’s Naval Operations Centre, added. “They are also testing us, us as an alliance (to see) how far they can go.”
US, others condemn deepening military ties between North Korea, Russia
Monday 16 December 2024 14:28
Tom Watling
The United States joined nine other nations and the European Union on Monday in condemning the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the countries said in a joint statement.
“We will continue to act in concert, including through imposition of economic sanctions, to respond to the danger posed by the DPRK-Russia partnership,” the said in the statement, which included Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Britain.
Tax Russia to rebuild Ukraine and increase defence spending, Estonia says
Monday 16 December 2024 14:03
Tom Watling
Estonia will propose that the leaders of the United Kingdom-led alliance of northern European Nato countries spend no less than 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence in response to the threat from Russia.
Only 23 of the 32 Nato members are on track to hit the Nato target of a minimum 2 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence spending.
“Everybody in Nato and in the EU right now has the feeling in their back bone that you should increase defence expenditure, because of what is happening all over the world and with Russia,” Michal told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
“Europe as the wealthiest region of the world has to spend more on defence, security and security.”
Michal hosts the heads of the alliance, called the Joint Expeditionary Force, in Tallinn this week, and will focus discussions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, which he described as an “an environmental disaster waiting to happen”.
Estonia has doubled its defence spending since the start of the nearly three-year-old war in Ukraine, up to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2024.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in July that he would increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, but only when the country could afford it and after a review of defence strategy.
EU slaps sanctions on dozens more Russian officials and targets its shadow oil and gas fleet
Monday 16 December 2024 13:41
Tom Watling
British former paratrooper unlawfully killed in Ukraine, coroner finds
Monday 16 December 2024 12:56
Tom Watling
What is ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
Monday 16 December 2024 12:30
Tom Watling
There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.
Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had "proven themselves."
Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.
Russia has begun using North Korean troops ‘in significant numbers’
Monday 16 December 2024 11:56
Tom Watling
EU announces 15th sanctions package against Russia
Monday 16 December 2024 11:30
Tom Watling
The European Union has announced a sweeping sanctions package against Russia, targeting 54 persons and 30 entities “responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
It is the 15th package the EU has announced.
You can read details of the package here.
Where Putin’s forces are making gains on the frontline in east Ukraine
Monday 16 December 2024 11:06
Tom Watling
Mapped: Russia makes advances in eastern Ukraine
Monday 16 December 2024 10:43
Tom Watling
What will it cost to defend Britain from a growing Russian threat?
Monday 16 December 2024 10:26
Tom Watling
Ukrainian drone raid destroys Russian ammunition depot in Donetsk region, source says
Monday 16 December 2024 10:11
Tom Watling
A Ukrainian drone attack destroyed a Russian ammunition depot near the village of Markine in Russian-occupied Donetsk region, a source in Ukraine‘s SBU state security service said on Monday.
The depot stored thousands of ammunition rounds for armoured personnel carriers and tanks, anti-tank guided missiles, mines and grenades, plus millions of rounds of ammunition for guns of various calibres, the source said.
The attack also destroyed the nearby fuel storage facility, according to the source.
As the full-scale war approaches its 34th month, Russia is inching forward in Ukraine‘s east with the most intense fighting taking place on the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk fronts in Donetsk region.
Ukraine relies on long-range drones to damage Russian strategic and military targets far beyond the front lines, including attacks on ammunition depots and oil facilities.
Ukraine reports North Korean losses on Russia's Kursk front
Monday 16 December 2024 09:56
Tom Watling
Ukraine has claimed that North Korean units fighting for Russia sustained losses of at least 30 soldiers killed or wounded around several villages on the front in Russia’s Kursk region over the weekend.
Ukraine‘s military spy agency reported the losses in a statement after President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday Russia was using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults in Kursk, a Russian region where Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion in August.
The statement is the first time Ukraine has reported North Korean losses of this scale and in some detail. It said the losses were recorded in the vicinity of the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba and Martynovka in the Kursk region.
It was not possible to independently verify the figures. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Koreans on its side. Pyongyang initially dismissed reports about the troop deployment as “fake news”, but a North Korean official has said any such deployment would be lawful.
“Due to the losses, the assault groups are being replenished with fresh personnel, in particular from the 94th separate brigade of the DPRK army, to continue active combat operations in Kursk region,” the Ukrainian agency wrote, without providing evidence.
Damaged Russian tankers were carrying 62,000 barrels of oil products, Tass says
Monday 16 December 2024 09:32
Tom Watling
Two Russian tankers that spilled oil into the Kerch Strait after sustaining serious damage during a heavy storm on Sunday were carrying 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products at the time, the state Tass news agency reported.
How much of the fuel leaked is being determined, Tass said. It said the Volgoneft 212 was carrying roughly 4,900 tons of fuel oil at the time, and the Volgoneft 239 4,300 tons.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Monday that all 14 crew members from the Volgoneft 239 had been rescued. The vessel ran aground 80 metres from the shore near the port of Taman.
The Kerch Strait, which separates mainland Russia from Moscow-annexed Crimea, is a key route for exports of Russian grain and fuel products.
The spill has the potential to be one of the largest environmental disasters to affect the region in recent years.
On Sunday, one crew member was killed after the Volgoneft 212 split in half with its bow sinking. Eleven others were taken to a local hospital.
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the spill, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.