Russian lieutenant general killed in Moscow explosion

A Russian lieutenant general and his assistant were killed by an explosion in a Moscow residential building on Tuesday morning.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiological, chemical and biological defense troops, was killed in the explosion, said the Russian Investigative Committee.

Preliminary information indicated that the explosion occurred following the detonation of an explosive device with an equivalent power of approximately 1 kilogram of TNT, according to law enforcement agencies quoted by TASS on Tuesday.

The explosive device was planted in a scooter, said the committee, adding that a criminal case has been opened in connection with the killing.

The Ukrainian military announced on Tuesday that the attack on Kirillov was a special operation carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.

A day earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine had accused Kirillov of deploying banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces, labeling him a war criminal.

Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on social media that Kirillov had devoted himself to exposing a series of biological laboratory activities carried out by the United States in Ukraine.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that Ukraine's attempt to intimidate the Russian people is doomed to failure and will inevitably lead to retaliation against Ukraine's top military and political leadership.

Russian lieutenant general killed in Moscow explosion

Russian lieutenant general killed in Moscow explosion

The rapid spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu among wildlife and some humans has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to jointly call for One Health response on Tuesday to address global risks.

One Health refers to a holistic and collaborative approach to health crises, spanning sectors and disciplines.

In an update on the global situation, Gregorio Torres, head of the Science Department of the WOAH said the disease has caused the deaths of more than 300 million birds worldwide since October 2021.

More than 500 bird species and over 70 mammalian species have been infected with the virus, according to Dr. Madhur Dhingra, a senior animal health officer of the FAO.

Dhingra warned that hundreds of millions of people's livelihoods have been affected by the virus.

In 2024, 76 people have been reportedly infected with the virus, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, director of the Epidemic and Pandemic Threat Management of WHO.

The three UN agencies called for a multi-sector collaborative response and a close watch on human-animal interaction, stressing that the protection of animal species and food systems is as important as preventing human infections.

UN agencies call for multidisciplinary approach to tackling H5N1 avian influenza