Akhmadzhon Kurbonov was sentenced to life by a Moscow military court for the December 2024 scooter-bomb killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his aide Ilya Polikarpov. Three accomplices received 18–25 year terms after being convicted on terrorism and explosives charges. Investigators say the plot was planned in Ukraine and that explosives were smuggled in from Poland; the SBU has claimed responsibility and Russian officials call the attacks state terrorism. The case is part of a pattern of targeted killings of senior Russian military figures since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Moscow Court Hands Life Term Over 2024 Scooter-Bomb Killing Of Russia's Chemical Protection Chief
A detainee, named as Uzbek national Akhmad Kurbanov and considered by investigators as a suspect in the murder of chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops Igor Kirillov along with his assistant, sits inside an enclosure for defendants as he attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova
A military court in Moscow on Wednesday sentenced Uzbek national Akhmadzhon Kurbonov to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of the December 2024 bomb killing of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, and Kirillov's aide Ilya Polikarpov.
The attack occurred outside an apartment block in Moscow when an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter was remotely detonated as the two men stepped outside. Russian investigators say the plot was planned in Ukraine and that the explosives were smuggled into Russia from Poland.
Prosecutors also convicted three accomplices of crimes including terrorism and illegal trafficking of explosives. The accomplices received prison terms of 18 to 25 years in maximum-security correctional camps, the Investigative Committee — the body responsible for major crimes — said in a statement.
According to the case account, one suspect, identified as Robert Safaryan, stored bomb components at his home in Russia; Kurbonov allegedly assembled the device, planted it in or under the scooter and detonated it remotely. Russian media reported that Kurbonov pleaded guilty, while his co-defendants denied the charges. Reuters was unable to reach defence lawyers for comment.
Wider Context
Ukrainian intelligence service the SBU has said it carried out the high-profile attack; Moscow has described a string of such strikes inside Russia as acts of state terrorism. The killing of Kirillov is one of several targeted attacks on senior Russian military figures since the start of the war in Ukraine nearly four years ago. Russian authorities recently reported the death of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov after a bomb exploded under his car, a case for which Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.
This report is based on court rulings and statements from the Russian Investigative Committee and Russian media coverage; independent verification of some details cited by authorities is limited.
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