A War Brought Home: The Illusion of Normalcy in Moscow Shattered

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Despite nearly three years of war, life seemed oddly normal: from the bustling Metro packed with commuters to the lively bars and clubs filled with young Muscovites. But then, something happened to break the illusion: a stark reminder that there is nothing normal about Russia today.

That “something” might be a Ukrainian drone breaching Moscow’s air defenses.

Or, as on Tuesday morning, something even more shocking—the targeted assassination of a senior Russian general as he exited an apartment building.

According to the sources of Leaders team, when Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were killed by a bomb hidden an electric scooter, the brutal reality of Russia’s war on Ukraine struck close to home as per the Muscovites.

For those near the crime scene, the war no longer felt like a distant conflict.

“It’s one thing to read about it in the news, but when it happens next door, it’s completely different and terrifying,” says Liza, a resident of a nearby building.

“Until now, it felt like the war was far away. But now, someone has died here. You can feel the consequences,” she adds.

“My anxiety has gone through the roof. Every sound you hear unnerves you—whether it’s a drone or just construction noise,” Liza explains.

As per the reports of Leaders team, this sense of detachment from the war—this perception that it is happening somewhere far away—is something often heard in Moscow. For a significant portion of the population, the conflict exists primarily on TV screens or smartphones. In many ways, it feels like a virtual war.

This is surprising, given the large number of dead and wounded.

But the assassination of a Russian general in the heart of Moscow serves as a harsh wake-up call—a stark reminder that the war is very real and alarmingly close.

Will it be a wake-up call for the authorities?

Unlikely. There is little indication of a shift in the Kremlin’s stance on Ukraine. Instead, Moscow appears poised to escalate further.

Recent developments underscore this.

Following the news of Kirillov’s killing, a political talk show host on Russian state television accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack and suggested that “with this, President Zelensky has signed his own death sentence.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for investigators to track down the killers within Russia and declared, “We must do everything to destroy their patrons in Kyiv.”

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