Russian Commander Killed
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the targeted killing of a top Russian commander.
An explosive planted in an electric scooter killed Igor Kirillov—head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troops—and his assistant as they left Kirillov’s Moscow apartment early Tuesday. Ukraine’s main domestic intelligence agency, known as the SBU, said it remotely detonated the bomb to eliminate the “war criminal,” an “entirely legitimate target.”
Kirillov, seen as a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation,” had been accused by the U.S. and others of ordering Russia’s use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine. The SBU cited over 4,800 cases of Russian chemical munitions use since the February 2022 invasion.
Russian authorities classified Kirillov’s death as an act of terror, promising “inevitable retribution” on Kyiv’s “senior military-political leadership.”
Verse to consider when news from around the world makes you feel like you’re inside a spy movie… “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (CSB) (read full passage)