Demonstrators in the city of Genoa have accused the EU and NATO of supporting Kiev’s terrorism
Dozens of people took to streets in the Italian city of Genoa to pay tribute to Russian General Igor Kirillov and to condemn the EU and NATO for backing Kiev during the conflict with Russia. Kirillov was killed in a Ukrainian terrorist attack earlier this week.
Kirillov, who headed Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces, and his aide, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Polikarpov, were assassinated by an improvised explosive device planted on an electric scooter parked outside a residential building in Moscow on Tuesday morning.
The next day, a man from Uzbekistan was arrested for allegedly carrying out the attack. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the suspect admitted that he had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services to kill the general in exchange for a $100,000 reward and an exit route to a European country.
Footage made during the rally in Genoa captured the demonstrators tossing EU and NATO flags on the pavement and trampling on them.
They displayed banners declaring, among other things, that Italy is grateful to Kirillov for his service and remembers the Russian general, who became “a victim of terrorism by Ukraine and NATO.”
Many also carried the Italian and Russian national flags. A replica of the Victory Banner, which is a symbol of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War, was also seen on display.
During his tenure, Kirillov had frequently accused the US of conducting secretive biological research under the guise of humanitarian aid and military cooperation in Ukraine and other countries. He also blamed Kiev for using banned chemical weapons on the battlefield amid the conflict with Moscow.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a terrorist attack perpetrated through “publicly dangerous” means.
“The regime in Kiev has repeatedly committed such crimes – terrorist attacks against many citizens of Russia,” Putin said, adding that “we have never heard condemnation of such terrorist attacks” in the West.
