Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish wa

Details: Written by: Oleg Sukhov; 23.Dec; Hits: 3

The Dec. 17 killing of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov in Moscow — reportedly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — is the most high-profile assassination of a Russian military official to date.It's not the first one, however.Military officials, propagandists, and those seen as collaborators by Kyiv have been assassinated in Russia or the Ukrainian territories it occupies since the beginning of Russia's all-out war in 2022.Analysts say that such assassinations aim to bring war to Russian territory, undermine the enemy's morale, and divert Russian troops and security personnel from the front line.Another goal is to punish those accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine since it's impossible to use courts to bring them to justice, they add.In this screengrab from an AFPTV footage, Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, speaks at a briefing over an alleged chemical attack on the Syrian city of Douma, at the Patriot park in the Moscow Oblast, Russia on June 22, 2018.

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The Kyiv Independent is Ukraine’s fastest-growing English-language media outlet, created in November 2021, just three months before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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(AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images)"These assassinations, particularly just a few kilometers away from the Kremlin, are a humiliation for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin as they demonstrate a failure of Russia's security agencies and that no one in the regime, civil or military, is safe," Jamie Shea, a defense and security analyst at Chatham House, told the Kyiv Independent.James Nixey, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, told the Kyiv Independent that such assassinations "put the element of doubt into Russian generals" as "they are not safe either on the front line or in Moscow suburbs."The Ukrainian authorities have not officially admitted their participation in the assassinations.The SBU did not respond to a request for comment, while Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) declined to comment.General Igor Kirillov, the Russian chemical weapons chief and propagandist assassinated by UkraineLATEST: Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reports Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov met his demise in Moscow on Dec.

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