MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Two more individuals have been detained and charged in connection with the murder of Igor Kirillov, the former commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection troops, Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.
"Based on the gathered evidence, [Batukhan] Tochiyev and [Ramazan] Padiyev [involved in the terrorist attack] have been detained and charged with a terror attack; requests for their arrest have been filed with the court," the spokeswoman said.
She also confirmed that the direct perpetrator of the crime, Akhmadzhon Kurbonov, has been identified. On December 17, 2024, when Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were leaving a building, Kurbonov remotely detonated an explosive device, about 500 grams of TNT, placed on a scooter. The two servicemen succumbed to their injuries.
Petrenko added that Tochiyev’s and Padiyev’s involvement in the attack had been established. Acting under instructions from an unidentified mastermind, in November 2024, they rented a hostel room in the Moscow Region for Kurbonov, where he was supposed to hide after the attack.
"The mastermind transferred funds for the rent to Tochiyev’s account. Meanwhile, Padiyev personally visited the hostel, made the payment, and filmed both the interior and exterior of the place; later, he handed over the keys to Kurbonov during a meeting in a mall in Moscow. After the attack, the organizer provided Kurbonov with the shelter’s address and sent him Padiyev’s video footage for guidance. Kurbonov was arrested by the police while on his way to the shelter," Petrenko said.
She added that the FSB and police are working to identify the instigators and organizers of the attack, as well as all individuals involved in its planning and execution.