Russia Pushes U.S. Bio Weapons Claims
By Tom Norton
Fact Check Reporter
The death of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, the head of the country's nuclear and chemical defense forces, has led to retellings of anti-Ukrainian and anti-United States falsehoods that he helped spread from his seat of power.
Kirillov, 54, was leaving a residential block on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter detonated, killing him and his assistant, officials cited by the Associated Press said.
An official at Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said the agency was behind the attack. The individual, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described Kirillov as a "war criminal and an entirely legitimate target," according to AP.
Over the past six years, Kirillov helped to spread several baseless conspiracies, including that the U.S. developed COVID-19, that Ukraine and the U.S. were developing bioweapons facilities in Ukraine, and that President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was linked to bioweapons development.
These have been debunked, but Kirillov's death sparked the re-emergence of the same unsubstantiated talking points.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by the account Shadow of Ezra, posted on December 17, 2024, said: "Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, a key figure in uncovering controversial bioweapons programs, has been k*lled in a Moscow explosion triggered by an explosive device.
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