Common’s assassination disrupts Moscow’s air of normality

Look and actuality: there’s a fixed battle in Moscow between the 2.

Regardless of nearly three years of conflict, life right here can appear so regular: from crowds of commuters within the metro to bars and golf equipment filled with younger Muscovites.

Then, abruptly, one thing occurs to remind you that there’s nothing regular about right now’s Russia.

That “one thing” may very well be a Ukrainian drone penetrating Moscow’s air defenses.

Or – much more dramatic – what occurred Tuesday morning: the focused assassination of a high-ranking Russian common as he was leaving a constructing.

When Lieutenant Common Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooterthe truth of Russia’s conflict towards Ukraine hit us.

Not less than for the Russians close to the crime scene.

“It’s one factor to examine it within the newspaper, it appears far-off, however when it occurs near dwelling, it’s fully completely different and scary,” Liza tells me. She lives one constructing away from the scene of the explosion.

“Till now, [the war] I had the impression that it was taking place very far-off – now that somebody is useless, right here, we really feel the implications.

“My nervousness has gone by means of the roof. Each sound you hear bothers you – you surprise if it is a drone or one thing on a development web site,” Liza says.

This notion of the Russian conflict in Ukraine as one thing distant – I’ve heard it so typically right here. I’ve the impression that, for a substantial a part of the inhabitants, this can be a conflict that they solely expertise on their tv display screen or on their smartphone. In some ways, a digital conflict.

That is actually astonishing, given the massive variety of deaths and accidents.

However the assassination of a Russian common in Moscow: it’s a actual alarm sign; proof that this conflict could be very actual and really near dwelling.

Will this function a wake-up name for the Russian authorities?

Most likely not. There are few indicators of a Kremlin turnaround on Ukraine. It’s more likely that Moscow will escalate the conflict.

Simply take a look at the indicators.

Reacting to information of Kirillov’s homicide, the host of a political debate on Russian state tv blamed Ukraine and mentioned that “with this assault, President Zelensky signed his personal dying sentence.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev mentioned “investigators should discover the murderers in Russia.” He added: “We should do all the things to destroy their shoppers who’re in kyiv.”

Up to now, President Vladimir Putin has not publicly reacted to the assassination of the final and his aide.

However the Kremlin chief has already declared a number of occasions that, confronted with safety threats, Russia “will all the time react”.

Based mostly on this dedication, retaliation is probably going.

On Thursday, the Kremlin chief is because of maintain his press convention and his annual end-of-year phone interview. That is usually a marathon broadcast dwell on all main tv channels.

I ponder: will he use the occasion to touch upon the dramatic assassination of Kirillov early within the morning?

Will he break his silence on Syria? The Russian president has thus far mentioned nothing publicly concerning the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Moscow’s key ally within the Center East.

And what’s going to he inform Russians concerning the route their nation is heading because the conflict in Ukraine – what Putin nonetheless calls his “particular navy operation” – approaches its three-year mark?