Court sentences bomb plotters for attack that killed General Kirillov

The court sentenced Akhmadzhon Kurbanov* to life imprisonment for carrying out a terrorist attack that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov. Three other defendants — Robert Safaryan, Batukhan Tochiev and Ramazan Padiev — received terms of 18 to 25 years along with the main perpetrator Kurbanov*.

On the morning of February 17, 2024, Lieutenant General of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kirillov was killed following an explosion on Ryazansky Prospekt. He had led the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops for over 30 years. The general is survived by his wife and two sons. His 33-year-old assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, was with him at the moment of the explosion.

“In the autumn of 2024, the organizers planned the delivery from Poland to Russia of components of an improvised explosive device, disguised as household items, to Safaryan,” said Svetlana Petrenko, the official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee. “He stored them at his residence and, after receiving instructions from the organizer, handed them over to the perpetrator of the attack, Kurbanov*.”

According to the publication Kommersant, the parcels to Robert Safaryan contained two drill-drivers, three fuel filters for internal combustion engines and a music speaker. The drills, as reported by Kommersant, were ready-made booby-trap mines, while the organizers hid plastic explosives in the other items. Safaryan, originally from Baku, was sentenced to 25 years in a penal colony.

As established by the investigation, after receiving the components, Kurbanov* assembled the explosive device, equipped it with shrapnel and attached it to a scooter near the house of Lieutenant General Kirillov. Waiting for Kirillov to come outside, Kurbanov* remotely activated the device.

Igor Kirillov sustained 132 bodily injuries, caused mainly by hits from steel ball bearings, writes Kommersant. After this, Kurbanov* tried to hide in a safe house.

Two other convicted defendants — Tochiev and Padiev — were found guilty of complicity in the terrorist attack for finding an apartment for Kurbanov*. Kommersant notes that during the preparations, the man stayed in hostels and various apartments.

To allow Kurbanov* to live without official registration, Batukhan Tochiev, originally from Ingushetia, passed himself off as an employee of the Russian National Guard, and Kurbanov* as a colleague. He said his comrade needed the housing to hide from Ukrainian special services. Tochiev recruited Ramazan Padiev for 8,000 rubles (approximately $89 at current rates), writes Kommersant.

Tochiev was sentenced to 22 years in a penal colony, and Padiev to 18. Furthermore, the defendants must pay the general«s widow, Svetlana Kirillova, 7.2 million rubles (approximately $80,000 at current rates), and the general»s son and the widow of the general«s assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, 10 million rubles (approximately $111,100 at current rates) each.

The court also partially satisfied the claims of the owners of 27 apartments and 13 cars damaged as a result of the explosion.

Kurbanov* was the only defendant who pleaded guilty and cooperated with the investigation, writes RBC. The others insisted they did not know about Kurbanov*«s involvement in terrorism.

* Listed in the register of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring (Russia«s financial monitoring service).

Also read what eyewitnesses of the tragedy said. All related news is published by MSK1.RU in a separate story on the website.