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.

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

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

Russia said on Wednesday it had detained an Uzbek man who had confessed to planting and detonating a bomb which killed a top general, Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on the instructions of Ukraine's SBU security service.

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.