The issue of Russia’s alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine was put firmly on the international agenda in May 2024, when the US imposed new sanctions on Russia, accusing it of resorting to the use of tear gas and chloropicrin, an odourless toxic irritant, on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Kirillov, who has been killed in Moscow, was accused by the West of overseeing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has claimed responsibility for the assassination of a Russian general, the most high-profile killing of its kind since the start of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kirillov ran Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces. Kyiv previously accused him of ordering the use of chemical weapons against Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov met his demise in Moscow on Dec. 17, reportedly killed by a bomb attached to a scooter planted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). "Kirillov was a war criminal and a completely legitimate target,

Kirllov, who has been killed in Moscow, was accused by the West of overseeing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Russian officials say a man has been detained over the killing of Lt. General Igor Kirillov, who led Russia's chemical and biological weapons unit.

Igor Kirillov, a general in charge of Russia’s military’s nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces, was killed on Tuesday by a bomb in Moscow, the Russian authorities said. An official with Ukraine’s security service,