MOSCOW — A high-ranking general in the Russian armed forces has been killed in an explosion in Moscow.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was leaving a residential block early on Tuesday when a device hidden in a scooter was detonated, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

It added that Kirillov's assistant was also killed.

In October, the UK placed sanctions on Kirillov, saying he had overseen the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine and acted as a "significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation".

On Monday, Ukraine's secret service, the SBU, charged him in absentia, saying on Telegram he was "responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons".

The Investigative Committee, Russia's main investigative authority, said it had "opened a criminal case into the murder of two servicemen".

"Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene," it said.

"Investigative actions and operational search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime." — BBC