What verified videos tell us about Igor Kirillov’s death

BBC Verify is analyzing social media videos and images from Moscow to try to build a clearer picture of the explosion that killed Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide.

Ukrainian sources claimed responsibility for the attack on the senior commander, who has overseen Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops since 2017. He was banned by the UK in October and accused of being a “significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation”.

Russia’s Investigative Committee – the country’s equivalent of the FBI – said Lieutenant General Kirillov was leaving a modern apartment building in southeast Moscow early Tuesday when a device hidden in a parked scooter detonated.

Footage certified by BBC Verify shows Lieutenant General Kirillov and his assistant leaving the building before the explosion on a scooter parked next to the main door. The clip appears to have been filmed by a camera mounted on the dashboard of a car parked nearby.

Nothing of the aftermath of the explosion is visible, with the rest of the footage obscured by debris from the explosion.

In other footage analyzed by BBC Verify, the remains of an electric scooter can be seen lying amid the debris between two bodies and a demolished door.

A close-up image of the scooter, verified by matching it to the wreckage, shows it to be largely intact – apart from its missing handlebar.

Experts at Jane’s – a private open-source investigation organization – told BBC Verify that the images showed the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) rather than conventional ammunition.

A spokesperson for the organization told BBC Verify, “From the available photographs of the scooter it actually appears largely intact, so the impact appears to be more of a fragmentation than an explosion.”

According to the US Department of Homeland Security, an IED is a type of “homemade” bomb that can come in a variety of forms and usually consists of easily obtained components – such as nails, glass or metal pieces.

David Heathcote, an intelligence manager at security analyst McKenzie Intelligence, also suggested that the device appeared to be an IED.

“An IED may be deliberately constructed so that it appears as an everyday object that would not look out of place,” he told BBC Verify. “In this instance it appears that the device was concealed within a scooter, possibly using a military grade explosive such as (but not necessarily) Semtex rather than a homemade explosive.”

He said the attack “demonstrated a decent level of sophistication and may have taken months of preparation” which would have required “a significant amount of surveillance of the intended target prior to the attack”.

Russian media have speculated that a device was affixed to the scooter’s handlebar.

Citing law enforcement sources it was also reported that the explosion was probably carried out remotely. Mr Heathcote agreed with the assessment, suggesting that a radio signal from a phone or car fob could have been triggered.

“The attacker would have to keep an eye on the device and press a switch to trigger the explosion as soon as they come within range of the target,” he told BBC Verify. “The proximity to the attacker’s device depends on the transmitter (or) receiver being used.”

Russian state media has said that up to 300 grams of explosive material has been used in the bomb. According to a UN tool for estimating the damage caused by explosions, 300 grams of TNT equivalent explosive can break small windows from about 17 meters (55 ft) away, or damage brick houses from 1.3 meters away. Is.

An eyewitness showed photos to Russian media of what he said was debris from the explosion that fell on his flat across the street from the scene. BBC Verify is showing these to weapons experts to help establish whether they could have come from the device.

According to the developers, the apartment block where Lieutenant General Kirillov was assassinated is relatively new and was completed in 2019. The flats are relatively high class, with some available online for around 20m rubles (£153,540).

In video verified by the BBC, a small crowd is seen gathering around bodies lying on a snow-covered road. Emergency services vehicles are also visible in the footage.

Both videos were filmed on a street looking north towards Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospect and surfaced on social media on Tuesday morning. They show damage to the front of the building, with bricks scattered around and doors blown open, just feet from the bodies.

In another video, a bright flash was captured slightly away from the camera. Due to the intensity of the explosion, snow fell on cars parked nearby.

Popular Russian Telegram channel Mash reported that at least 10 other apartments on the street were affected by the explosion.

BBC Verify will continue to examine footage from the scene and bring updates.