The head of Russia's chemical and biological forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, was killed in a Moscow bomb blast claimed by 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.

General Kirillov, 54, died along with an aide after an explosive device planted in a scooter was detonated on Tuesday morning near the entryway to a residential building, Russia’s Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, said in a statement.