Turning now to some breaking news out of Russia, where
the bloodshed from the Ukraine war has now reached the
front door of the Kremlin.
Take a look at this video, which appears to show
the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov, the head of
Russian chemical, radiological and biological weapons unit, happening just miles
from the Kremlin.
Ukraine's Security Service claimed responsibility for the killing.
The explosive device was planted in a scooter next to
the entrance of a Moscow apartment building in the blast,
killing both Kirilov and his assistant.
NB CS Keir Simmons has the details.
Kier, even the timing is dramatic.
Just yesterday, Ukraine charged Lieutenant General Karilov with war crimes.
Today they say they have killed him in Moscow.
Russian media reporting a bomb was taped to the handle
of a scooter This morning in Moscow.
A dramatic explosion killing a key Russian general and his
assistant.
The blast, so powerful it blew the bricks from the
walls and the remains of a scooter.
It was loaded with explosives, Ukraine says, an operation both
audacious and precise.
The bomb detonating as he moved between a building and
a car.
And Ukraine's most ambitious assassination deep inside Russia since the
war began.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov was chief of the Russian army's
chemical weapons division.
He was sanctioned by the UK in October for the
alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
According to a Ukrainian security source briefed on the matter,
Kirilov was an absolutely legitimate target since he gave orders
to use prohibited chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military.
Such an inglorious end awaits all who killed Ukrainians.
The source asking for anonymity because they aren't authorized to
discuss it publicly.
Russian state television leading with news of the killing, saying
the bomb was remotely operated.
It comes as the war started after Russia invaded.
Ukraine enters its third year, both sides still taking massive
losses.
Already Russian investigators are calling the bombing an act of
terrorism, but they will be under pressure to explain another
high profile assassination in the Russian capital.
Kirilov was notorious for pushing disinformation against the West.
The question now is not just what the Kremlin says,
but what it does.
Russia's most outspoken voices calling for the killing of Western
officials.
Kier Simmons, thank you for that reporting.
And joining us now is MSNBC military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel
or I should say, retired Colonel Jack Jacobs.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Colonel, are you surprised Ukraine was able to take out
such a high profile player and so close to the
Kremlin?
No, not at all.
They've been, they've done it before, not this high profile,
but they've been working strenuously to eliminate people at the
top of the food chain.
What's really interesting is when you is this, when you
take a look at that video, you can see General
Kurilov and an aide coming out of the building and
then the the bomb is detonated.
So it was clearly a command detonated bomb, which means
not only was the scooter with the probably plastic explosive
placed right in front of the building, but it was
detonated by somebody who was probably right across the street
or nearby.
I could see the general coming out of the building
and detonated it at will, which tells you a great
deal about the infiltration of Moscow, the designation of specific
people to assassinate and so on.
It's a campaign that will continue on.
And interesting that Ukraine was so quick to take credit,
right?
What would you expect from Russia in response?
Well, they're working really hard to identify people in Ukraine
to assassinate.
They've been less successful than the Ukrainians have been.
They're working extremely hard on the battlefield.
And the Russians have been making some, some progress on
the battlefield, both with and without the Koreans that they've
whom they've employed.
The, the thing we can expect from Russia certainly is
a public relations, a great deal of public relations, and
we've already heard from them talking about how Western leaders
are responsible, suggesting that Western leaders are responsible.
But actual actions are going to be difficult, difficult to
come by.
And people in Ukraine, particularly the leadership, are very closely
guarded.
Anna Karilov was just charged on Monday by Ukraine for
using banned chemical weapons during Russia's invasion.
We know he was a big player in Russia's propaganda
apparatus, constantly spreading lies about Ukraine and America, and he
once claimed the US in fact was planning to use
drones designed to spread infected mosquitoes.
And as the head of the biological weapons unit, he
was accused of using a riot control gas against Ukrainian
troops that caused extreme irritation and pain in the eyes
and lungs.
Just bigger picture here, Colonel.
What does his death mean for the Russian, the Russian
war effort and and Kremlin's overall goals, do you think?
Well, I think they're going to focus their attention on
the battlefield.
They are making progress like I suggested.
By the way, General Kurilov was also accused of using
not just riot control agents, CS and CN, but also
nitrochloroform, which was used in the in the First World
War and is banned by the chemical weapons treaty to
which the Russia is a signatory.
No, I think the Russians are going to continue to
focus on the battlefield.
They have larger numbers they have of people, they have
lots and lots of missiles, rockets and artillery.
And it's going to be difficult for the Ukrainians to
keep resupplying what they need in order to defend.
They've been losing some ground.
The Russians understand this and will continue to press on
the ground.
But the disinformation campaign by the Russians will continue to
try to separate Ukraine from its allies.
And so far that may in fact be successful.
We'll see what see what comes up in that regard
in the coming months.
Anna, does this put Russia on its heels a little
bit and and does Ukraine by again claiming responsibility, is
that them trying to send some kind of a powerful
message?
Well, it's an interesting suggestion that it certainly makes people
at the top of the food chain in Russia extremely
wary of where they're going, what they're doing and so
on.
And it, it, it does give, it does give the
Russians a a very big black eye.
And there's been a series of, of events that that
have taken Russia by surprise everybody, a lot of people
might suggest that what this does is put Putin in
trouble among the people at who, at the top of
the government in Russia, because it's clear that things are
not going well inside the Kremlin.
But we have to remember that Putin, Putin keeps all
the people very close to him, keeps them extremely rich,
and therefore keeps himself extremely safe.
Anna.
Colonel Jack Jacobs, as always, we appreciate your insight and
your expertise.
Thank you.