MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials says Lt. General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, has been killed by an explosive device planted near an apartment building in Moscow. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the bomb, which was triggered by the device placed in a scooter, also killed Kirillov’s assistant. Kirillov, who was named the head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces in April 2017, was under sanctions from several countries including the U.K. and Canada for his role in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Security Services on Dec. 16 charged Kirillov with the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that started in Feb. 2022.