Elimination of Russian Chemical Troops General Kirillov
Censor.NET Editor-in-Chief Yurii Butusov comments on the elimination of Russian Chemical Troops General Kirillov in Moscow.
A historic event on the scale of the Israeli Mossad operation, which will certainly go down in the history of the struggle for Ukraine's independence.
On 17 December, at 6.11 a.m., Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, the head of the chemical, bacteriological and radiation protection troops of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, was blown up in the centre of Moscow near his home. This is one of the highest military leaders of the Russian Federation, one of the most senior Russian war criminals, who is responsible for a large series of crimes. This is the person who is responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers at the front, the same gas grenades. And this is the man who uses them and has his own missile and artillery units under his command. It was under Kirillov's leadership that Russian heavy multiple-launch rocket systems "Solntsepok" were used. He is a criminal who took an active part in the attack on Ukraine and in many war crimes. Kirillov's department is also responsible for the development of chemical weapons. And now the person who is in charge of the development, use, and deployment of chemical weapons and other types of weapons of the Russian army has been killed. According to many sources, the message was immediately reported in the Ukrainian media, the Security Service of Ukraine did it.
We see that it happened in the morning. Kirillov was leaving his house - Ryazansky Avenue, 2/1, building 3. A Russian war criminal lived in apartment 93. An electric scooter was parked near his car. There were explosives near it or on the scooter. It was obviously a disguised package. Russian sources say it was about 300 grams of TNT equivalent. In fact, apparently, according to our subscribers, who we receive anonymously on the channel, the explosive device should have contained about 800 to 1000 grams and somewhere up to 1400-1500 grams in TNT equivalent. There were also, obviously, elements of destruction.
Obviously, Kirillov could not survive such a powerful explosion. His assistant, aka bodyguard, was also killed on the spot. Kirillov was not alone. The enemy realized that he was a person who needed separate security control. His bodyguard was with him and the driver of the car was with him, he was not injured.
No civilians were injured during this impeccably precise operation. This marks the elimination of one of the senior military leaders of the Russian Federation. A person who made decisions was involved in a large number of programs and was responsible for numerous key decisions, someone who truly carried significant weight in the Russian military machine. And now he has been eliminated.
Very high quality of performance. We can see from the video that was posted on social media, though its source is unknown, that a car had been placed to monitor Kirillov's entrance. It had a video camera transmitting information via the Internet to someone. These individuals are heroic people who, in my opinion, deserve the highest state honors of our country, as well as the greatest respect and recognition from us. A scooter had also been placed, and video surveillance was established. This enabled the detonation of a controlled explosive device in such a way that in this heavily populated area, bystanders—civilians and peaceful people who had no involvement with the war crimes of Putin's army—were not harmed. The operation was executed with great precision, resulting in the elimination of both Kirillov and his bodyguard. This is truly a remarkable feat. One can only commend the head of the SSU, Vasyl Maliuk.
Vasyl Vasylovych truly performed at the highest level, the kind of work we expect from special services worldwide. Eliminations of this scale are indeed rare. Even when considering the experience of the famous Israeli intelligence service, MOSSAD, the elimination of military leaders at this level is quite uncommon, even in their history. This was a unique operation—remarkable in its simplicity, efficiency, and execution quality. Therefore, I congratulate the SSU; this was truly an outstanding achievement. I would also like to highlight that the Ukrainian leadership and the state gave Igor Kirillov the opportunity to surrender to justice voluntarily and stay alive. It may be hard to believe, but Kirillov was indeed warned, officially, by the Ukrainian government. Just look at the publication in the government newspaper Uriadovyi Kurier from Friday—a very important notice that Kirillov ignored.
"Notice of suspicion. In accordance with Articles 111-112, 276-278, Chapter 11 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, I hereby inform that on December 12, 2024, in criminal proceedings registered in the URPTI (Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations), number such-and-such, a written notice of suspicion was drawn up, according to which Kirillov Igor Anatolyevich, born in 1970, a native of the city of Kostroma, living at the address (by the way, his official address is different Y.B.), a citizen of the Russian Federation, is suspected of committing a criminal offense under Part 2 Article 28, part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code. The full text of the notice of suspicion is posted on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office in the section "Summonses and information on the special pre-trial investigation". And he should have appeared, Igor Anatolyevich Kirillov. If he had looked at this message, read the Uriadovyi Kurier, the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and come to surrender to justice, testify, he would have survived. Just as any Russian military personnel have the opportunity to stay alive if they do not commit crimes against Ukraine. But it seems that Lieutenant General Kirillov did not read Uriadovyi Kurier. And that was his fatal mistake. "Uriadovyi Kurier" writes very important messages. And especially when these messages are written from the Security Service of Ukraine and signed by the head of the Security Service, Vasyl Maliuk, Russian war criminals should pay attention to them. I am sure that now all Russian war criminals will be paying great attention to the section "War criminals who are on the wanted list" on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office. I am sure that now someone in Moscow will also start reading Uriadovyi Kurier. And I think this is such a powerful signal to the whole world that the Russian military leadership, these decision-making centers in Moscow, who think they can send people to die, kill Ukrainians, poison them with chemical gases. According to our information, I can say that Igor Kirillov is the one who is under sanctions from two NATO countries.
There is a report by the BBC. The commander of the chemical, radiological and bacteriological defense troops is under British sanctions, the British Foreign Office said. There is a report, this is the Washington Post, that the US State Department has imposed sanctions. And it is very precisely stated what crime Kirillov committed. The Security Service of Ukraine has stated that it was Kirillov who was deploying the production of chloropicrin to use it against Ukrainian troops. All Ukrainian infantrymen, all Ukrainian soldiers at the front face the enemy's use of grenades filled with gas, chloropicrin, chlorine and chlorine-based grenades, and various poisons, chemical warfare agents. This is CS, the massive use of Russian drones, the massive use of chemical weapons on the frontline.
The Security Service of Ukraine has avenged the person responsible for initiating the production of chemical weapons and for their large-scale supply to Russian troops. The fact that these chemical agents are being dropped on Ukrainian soldiers has not gone unpunished. This is extremely important. I have many interviews on my channel where Ukrainian soldiers talk about how they are constantly being attacked with chemical weapons and how difficult it is to endure, as the enemy is using combined chemical agents, along with other weapons causing kinetic damage.
Let’s take a look at who Kirillov is and what he said:
We see that Kirillov was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for the war against Ukraine. He received a large number of awards. And the video shows the use of the Sontsepok multiple-launch rocket system. This weapon is fully in service with the chemical forces of the Russian Federation. And the production of ammunition, the production of these TOS-1As, this system, all of this was completely under the control of Lieutenant General Kirillov's personal staff. And the production of mass ammunition, which was discussed in numerous investigations by Ukrainian journalists, which Ukrainian soldiers show, all these compounds that are used to equip these ammunition, all this is massively organized, tens of thousands are delivered to the front by the organization, by Kirillov's planning. And Igor Kirillov received a just punishment for his many crimes.
I would like to note the accuracy and humanity of the Ukrainian state. Kirillov was notified several days in advance that he was on the wanted list and was told where to go if he had questions about how to avoid such extreme capital punishment for his crimes. He could have contacted the General Prosecutor's Office, but he did not. And he was eliminated in a way that did not cause any harm to civilians. This just shows the difference in the methods of warfare between Ukraine and Russia. Kirillov used chemical weapons and multiple launch rocket systems indiscriminately against Ukrainian citizens on a massive scale, while he and his bodyguard were eliminated in a targeted manner. And very effectively.
Kirillov was active in the information space. And he was spreading a lot of fake information and reading it out. The Russian leadership has this principle. Everything they do, they try to blame others. That is, this is a principle of Goebbelsian propaganda because Putin works simply according to the canons of Hitler, Russian television and Russian propaganda. And hundreds of messages on Kirillov's behalf are about the combat mosquitoes. It was he who introduced the idea that Ukrainians were using combat mosquitoes. He is just a meme man. And he blamed the whole of Ukraine for the mosquitoes spreading fevers here. Then there are a lot of reports by Kirillov that there are dozens of bio labs in Ukraine that conduct experiments on people, and no one sees them. But Russian propaganda is constantly talking about this. Why do they talk about it? To mislead, to lie, to justify aggression for their own fooled population. And they tell all this, they read these fables on papers. And Kirillov is one of the champions of cringe in Russian propaganda.
Russia is testing and developing weapons of mass destruction. They have been attributing everything to Ukraine, claiming that Ukraine was the threat, preparing all these terrible things against them. Now, this stream of lies from this general, a hero of the Russian Federation, has finally been stopped by the Security Service of Ukraine. I believe this sends a very important message to all Russian war criminals. This is a prime example of the correct and effective organization of special services in Ukraine. This is exactly the kind of story that justifies sabotage operations behind enemy lines, the kind of work that special services are meant to carry out. Undoubtedly, all those involved in this operation deserve the highest respect. This is the level of excellence that should distinguish Ukrainian special services. I have no doubt that in the future, some of these heroes—dedicated, motivated individuals waging this secret war—will be the subject of TV series and films just as impressive as those about the Israeli Mossad. This level of operation is world-class. All global news agencies, TV channels, and media outlets reported on the place of Kirillov's elimination from the center of Moscow. It was covered by all the news outlets.
Answers to questions
We learn about Mossad operations years later, and here it seems that they are trying to announce success ahead of time.
In fact, this is not true. Most of the Mossad operations that take place are instantly known. What can I say? Look at the operation to eliminate the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel actually plans its operations with the information impact in mind. Isn’t it clear that blowing up a lieutenant general, the chief of staff of one of the highest military leaders of the Russian Armed Forces, cannot be a commercial dispute? This is obviously the work of Ukrainian special services, and there is no doubt about it. Why the fast notification? We also have internal reasons. There is significant competition in our country, as we have a structure, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, which is responsible for a large number of operations and has a very active press service. This press service automatically takes credit for everything that happens, often not so modestly. There are many scandals and conflicts. That’s why, in reality, there is another issue in our country: the first person to rush to the higher-ups with good news is the first to receive joyful handshakes, approval, and perhaps even sign something in a hurry. So, in our case, first, there’s nothing to hide, and second, we truly need to recognize those who deserve it. We need to acknowledge quality, professional work. This is the level of work we all expect.
Budanov got him for poisoning his wife.
Well, you see, this is part of the same story. Budanov, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, has no connection to this operation.
Doesn't the SSU want to send its regards to Yurii Boiko?
That's a good question. I hope the SSU operates across various directions. There are those who work against our main enemy, the Russian Federation, and those who focus on internal threats. I trust that Vasyl Maliuk, after such success in Moscow, will turn his attention to enemy agents in Kyiv. The OPFL party, which disguises itself by supporting all the initiatives of the President's Office while engaging in subversive activities, cannot continue its anti-Ukrainian propaganda and promotion of pro-Russian narratives in the third year of a full-scale, brutal, and bloody war. Such individuals have no place in the Ukrainian government. They should be made to testify. Preferably from the SSU's pre-trial detention center. I hope the SSU leadership will address this issue, as it cannot be allowed to persist. Yurii Boiko's statement is nothing less than a putdown to the entire nation fighting against the aggressor. Well, how should the soldiers on the front hear such statements that the enemy is sitting in the Verkhovna Rada in the rear and discrediting the struggle for Ukraine's independence with his statements, while people are dying for this independence every day. And this enemy has the mandate of a people's deputy and receives a salary from Ukrainian taxpayers every month for spreading Moscow's propaganda. This is a disgrace to the state. I hope that after such effective actions in Moscow, Boiko will be punished. It is impossible not to punish this. And in general, the entire OPFL faction, whatever it is called now, has no right to be in the Verkhovna Rada after its many years of pro-Russian policy. And someone should also decide this. If the Office of the President does not want to decide, we hope for the initiative of the SSU, which the people and society, of course, support.
He was afraid of combat mosquitoes and geese, but ended up dying because of a scooter.
Yeah, the scooter is truly a shame. It was a good one.
Where is Shufrych?
Friends, he is sitting. Shufrych is the most odious figure in the OPFL, from all. Now Shufrich is sitting, but I want to say that no sanctions have been imposed on his numerous properties in Ukraine, nothing has been confiscated from him, and he has not gone to court. He’s just sitting. Simply to stay out of sight and avoid irritating society. That’s why they keep him there. Sanctions have also been imposed on Vadym Rabinovych, a member of OPFL. He was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship. That’s it. Nothing else. Everyone else is working. Stolar is working, and so are all the others. They’re doing fine, no problems. Boiko is working. They’ve just found a very convenient role for themselves. They vote for all the laws proposed by the President's Office. And in return, the President's Office keeps them and allows them to say whatever they want. Medvedchuk did the same thing. Now Boiko is doing the same. Boiko gets away scot-free. Although I’m sure that with such pro-Russian statements, Putin would gladly exchange him for prisoners.
I wanted to talk about this success today. This is a significant story that deserves a dedicated evaluation—a masterful operation that stands among the finest executed by special services, not only Ukrainian but globally. It represents an exceptionally high level of professionalism and delivers a significant blow to the enemy’s leadership and military command. We look forward to further developments and new strikes against enemy leadership, Russian war criminals waging war on Ukraine, and, regrettably, their agents embedded within the Ukrainian government, who continue their subversive activities.
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