Title: Ukrainian Strike: Suspect Reveals How He Planted Bomb That Killed Russia‘s Top Radiological Protector
In a chilling revelation, 29-year-old Ahmad Kurbanov, a Uzbek national, has confessed to planting a bomb that killed Russia’s top radiological protector, General-Lieutenant Igor Kirillov, in a brazen daytime attack in Moscow. The deadly strike, claimed by Ukraine‘s State Security Service (SBU), is the most audacious assassination of a Russian official so far in the ongoing conflict.
According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Kurbanov admitted to inserting a 300-gram explosives-laden electric scooter near Kirillov’s residence for $100,000 and a European passport. He allegedly placed a camera on the dashboard of his rented car, livestreaming the explosion to his handlers in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Kirillov’s demise, which came just a day after he was accused of war crimes involving chemical weapons attacks on Ukrainian forces, marks a significant escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to target Russian officials, military personnel, and Kremlin allies.
The New Mossad
Ukrainian special forces have taken inspiration from Israel’s Mossad, which has been attributed to numerous extrajudicial killings worldwide since the 1960s. Targets have included nuclear weapons experts, arms suppliers, and suspected war criminals across Europe and South America.
As Ukraine increases its strike range with ballistic missile programs and drone attacks on Russian airbases, ammunition depots, and oil refineries, Kirillov’s death is meant to send a message to President Vladimir Putin that the war’s cost will be increasingly felt at home, a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence official told The Times.
Kurbanov’s alleged confession should be treated with caution, but even if he is a "lone wolf" manipulated by either Kyiv or Moscow, his supposed recruitment would fit a well-established pattern in intelligence operations: grooming disgruntled young men for major tasks after preparedness and conditioning.
Ukraine’s Recruitment Tactics
Ukrainian intelligence lures potential recruits via anti-Putin Telegram channels. It cultivates followers, then reaches out online to those especially engaged when offered cash for minor tasks like painting anti-Putin graffiti on government buildings. These channels are often promoted on gambling websites.
Payments are made using cryptocurrencies, with remuneration increasing with the risk involved. Agents can progress from graffiti to reporting artillery or rocket attacks, then onto bolder actions like torching army mobilization centers, pouring sand into Russian military vehicle fuel tanks, or sabotaging railway hubs.
Over time, agents can be trusted with more complex, risky missions, like delivering explosives. Both Russia and Ukraine have employed similar tactics to recruit agents in the other’s territory, each learning from the other’s methods.
parfois Deception Is Used
In other cases, targets may be deceived. In October 2022, a truck-bomb attacker defaced the Crimean Kerch Bridge after being duped into believing he was conveying an innocuous item. He perished in the explosion.
Ukrainian special forces have ventured deep into Russia to assassinate high-ranking officers, including the "Shadow" battalion led by the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR). HUR teams have also allegedly traveled to Mali, Sudan, and Syria to eliminate Wagner Group fighters accused of atrocities against Ukrainian civilians during Russia’s occupation.
Russia’s Malian government severed diplomatic ties with Kyiv after HUR admission that it backed Tuareg separatists in attacking and killing dozens of Wagner mercenaries and Malian soldiers.
Kirillov’s assassination was intended to convey a message to Russia that those responsible for war crimes against Ukraine will face severe retribution, an SBU source revealed.
"Kiirllov was a war criminal who commanded the chemical protection of the Russian Army against the Ukrainian army. A disgraced end awaits all who kill Ukrainians. The payment for military atrocities is inevitable," the source declared.
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