Trump’s envoy to Ukraine condemns assassination of top Russian general
- 19 December, 11:53
Donald Trump’s newly-appointed peace envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, has criticized the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in Kyiv-planted bomb explosion in Moscow.
Kellogg who will visit Kyiv for a fact-finding mission next January, described the high-profile killing organized by Ukraine’s SBU Security Service as “not a good idea”, explaining that it could potentially violate the rules of warfare and escalate the conflict.
“When you kill admirals or generals in their hometown, it’s kind of like you’re extending it. And I don’t think it’s a smart thing to do,” the retired US general Kellogs said in an in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. The US official also condemned the fact that Kirillov was killed by a recruited operative.
Kirillov led the Russia’s Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces. He was killed along with his aide in the explosion of a bomb planted outside of his home on Tuesday, December 17.
The SBU has confirmed the killing of Kirillov, describing him as a “war criminal and a legitimate target.” He was responsible for ordering the use of prohibited chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces,” a source within the agency said on Tuesday. The general’s assassination came a day after Kyiv charged him in absentia over alleged war crimes following an investigation by the SBU. Kirillov’s assassination was the latest of punitive actions carried out by Ukraine against Russian military officials. It came days after the killing in Moscow of Mikhail Shatsky, deputy chief designer and head of software for Russia’s Mars defense contractor.
