The United States is distancing itself from the assassination of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow. The U.S. denied any involvement in the assassination and has deferred all questions to Kiev.

The commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces was killed along with his aide in an explosion outside his apartment early on Tuesday morning. Multiple media outlets have reported that the assassination was executed on the orders of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). The death of Kirillov has already had Russia declaring that it will retaliate.

So far, not much has forced Russia to retaliate, as several “red lines” have been crossed without any response other than rhetoric, however, the Pentagon and State Department have both tried to distance themselves from the targeted assassination, which is believed to have been carried out by Ukraine.

Ukraine Assassinates Head Of Russia’s Chemical & Biological Defense Forces With ‘Scooter Bomb’ In Moscow

“I can tell you we were not aware of this operation in advance. We do not support or enable those kinds of activities,” Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder stated during a press briefing later that day.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller echoed these sentiments. “I can tell you that the United States was not aware of it in advance and was not involved,” Miller said on Tuesday. He went on to describe Kirillov as a general who was “involved in a number of atrocities,” while stopping short of branding him a legitimate target.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, responded to Kirillov’s assassination implying the West was involved. He characterized the murder as a sign of Kyiv’s desperation. “This is a clear indication of the agony of the Ukrainian government, which uses its remaining strength to justify its worthless existence to Western masters, prolong war and death, and explain away the catastrophic situation on the front line,” Medvedev said, according to a report by RT.