Ukrainian security services assassinated a Russian army general on Tuesday who was in charge of Vladimir Putin’s Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC).
Lt Gen Igor Krillov, 54 was blown up and killed in an explosion as a device was hidden in his scooter, according to Russian investigators.
Vladimir Putin, his senior officers and officials are being sent a clear message by Kyiv, that no matter where you may be hiding we will find you, we will kill you and we will make it known to all of Russia no where is safe.
Military analyst Professor Michael Clarke has said the assassination of Krillov will be seen as a “victory” for Kyiv in this “very dirty war.”
Professor Clarke told Sky News that the assassination so close to the Kremlin will actually “weaken Putin.”
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The assassination is a an ‘embarrassment’ for Putin and there will be ‘retribution’
Sky News reported that Professor Clarke was speaking to Wilfred Frost and said it was “audacious” for the Ukrainian security services (SBU) to conduct an attack in the heart of Moscow.
He added, “It’s not that easy to plant to bomb so near to the Kremlin in the Ryazanskiy district, but nevertheless, they did it.”
He said that this is a “clear tactic” for Kyiv to deliberately “shake Russia,” adding that this “will actually weaken Putin in the sense that it brings the war back to Moscow just before Christmas.
“Here we are with another attack, a very specific, targeted attack on a military figure right within the centre of Moscow.
“It’s a small victory for Kyiv in a very dirty war.”
Professor Clarke told Sky News that this will leave many Western allies “secretly pleased” and they will see the assassination as “justified.”
He said, “I think they’ll be secretly pleased about it.
“And they see this is all part of the bargaining process up to January, when we all anticipate that the war will begin to change with the incoming President Trump.
“Remember, the Russians are pushing every button they can find at the moment to gain advantage over Ukraine. And Ukraine is pushing their buttons to do the same.
“So I think that the Western world will feel that this is, in a sense, justified, even though they don’t really want to justify it legally.”
The former Tory MP Tobias Ellwood warned that Ukraine will be preparing for “major retaliation” from Putin over the killing of Krillov, especially as it was so close to the Kremlin.
Ellwood said that the “behaviour on the battlefield” is changing as both Russia and Ukraine are being influenced as Donald Trump will become US president for the second time in January.
Sky reported that the former chair of the Defence Select Committee said, “Both sides know there’s just one month left until Donald Trump returns to the White House and that is affecting behaviour on the battlefield.
“In a month’s time, talks are bound to start about a potential ceasefire and about a potential deal – so every opportunity is being taken to gain territory, to seek advantage, to prosecute existing plans to cause harm – and that is what I think is playing out here.”
Ellwood told Sky News on Tuesday morning, “It’s a major event, the removal of a senior military officer responsible for nuclear weapons, not on the battlefield in Ukraine, but in Moscow, just miles from the Kremlin.
“This will be is an embarrassment for Putin.
“He cannot hide this from the Russian people who are generally not supportive of this war and I would expect a major retaliation on the Russian side.”
