Uzbek national suspected of killing a Russian general sentenced to life imprisonment

A panel of judges at Russia’s 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced Ahmad Qurbonov, who was convicted of carrying out the terrorist attack that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, to life imprisonment. He was also fined 1 million roubles, RBK reported.

According to the outlet, Azerbaijani citizen Robert Safaryan, who delivered the explosive device, was sentenced to 25 years in a maximum-security penal colony, with the first nine years to be served in prison. Ingushetia residents Batuhan Tochiyev and Ramazon Padiyev, who rented accommodation to Qurbonov, were sentenced to 22 years (the first eight years in prison) and 18 years (the first six years in prison) respectively, and each was fined 200,000 roubles.

The defendants were charged, depending on their roles, with organising and participating in a terrorist organisation, preparing a terrorist attack, as well as the illegal trafficking of explosives and the manufacture of an explosive device. During closing arguments, prosecutor Nadezhda Tikhonova requested life imprisonment for Qurbonov, 28 years for Safaryan, 26 years for Tochiyev and 24 years for Padiyev in a maximum-security colony.

RBK reports that Qurbonov pleaded guilty and actively cooperated with investigators. The other defendants stated that they were unaware of Qurbonov’s involvement in terrorist activity. Tochiyev and Padiyev told the court that they had only rented out an apartment, while Safaryan claimed he did not know what was inside the parcel he delivered.

According to the investigation, on 17 December 2024, Uzbek citizen Qurbonov, acting on instructions from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), left an electric scooter fitted with a remotely controlled bomb at the entrance of the building where General Kirillov lived. He then got into a rented car and livestreamed the events to Ukraine. When General Igor Kirillov and his aide, Major Ilya Polikarpov, exited the building, the device detonated, killing both officers.

Russia’s Investigative Committee stated that Qurbonov had been promised $100,000, new identity documents and a residence permit in one of the European Union countries in exchange for killing the officers. However, he did not receive the reward, as he was arrested several hours after the explosion. Safaryan was later detained in the city of Vladimir. Investigators claim that he handed over the bomb, which had been brought from Poland, to Qurbonov. Initially, Safaryan was charged only with illegal trafficking of explosives, but after being transferred to Moscow, he was also charged with involvement in the terrorist attack. In January 2025, Batuhan Tochiyev and Ramazon Padiyev were also detained. Case materials indicate that they provided Qurbonov with an apartment to hide in after the explosion.

According to Russian investigators, the SBU financed the preparation of the attack using USDT stablecoins. At the initial stage, Qurbonov received 5,000 USDT, which at the time amounted to 404,800 roubles. The investigation established that the Uzbek citizen, who barely spoke Russian, first travelled from Tashkent to Baku, then to Moscow via Astana. In the Russian capital, he received another 431,000 roubles via cryptocurrency. In total, the Investigative Committee estimates that approximately 842,000 roubles were spent on organising the attack. The material damage caused to the owners of 27 apartments and 13 vehicles was assessed at 3.3 million roubles.

The trial at the 2nd Western Military Court began on 5 November last year and was held behind closed doors. Before closing the proceedings, the presiding judge read out a statement from the Interior Ministry, which claimed that “provocative actions aimed at justifying the crime” had been regularly committed during the preliminary investigation. The ministry also stated that individuals opposed to the “special military operation” had planned to attend the hearings and cover them through “SBU-controlled media outlets”. On these grounds, prosecutor Nadezhda Tikhonova requested that the trial be closed to the media and the public. The defence lawyers did not object.