Kyiv assassinates pro-Russian former Ukrainian politician near Moscow: Reports

A former pro-Russian member of the Ukrainian parliament was shot dead near Moscow, the responsibility for the alleged assassination, according to media reports, has been claimed by Kyiv. Notably, Kyiv, since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion, is reportedly said to be behind several assassinations and attacks on pro-war Russian and former Ukrainian officials who have backed Russia’s “special military operation”.

What happened to the former Ukrainian lawmaker?

The former Ukrainian lawmaker identified as Illia Kyva was shot dead in a park in the Odintsovo region southwest of Moscow. News agencies, AFP and Reuters citing sources have said that the attack was orchestrated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) after he defected to Moscow when Russia invaded last year.

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Meanwhile, Russian investigators said they have opened an investigation into the incident and will hunt for the suspect. “An unknown person fired shots at the victim from an unidentified weapon."

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“The man died on the spot from his injuries,” said Russia’s Investigative Committee, in a statement. A report by Russian news agency TASS citing a police officer said that the investigation is being treated as a “Ukrainian plot” and a search for the killer is underway.

Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov also seemingly hinted that Kyva was assassinated. “We can confirm that Kyva is done. Such a fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine, as well as the henchmen of the (Russian President Vladimir) Putin regime,"Yusov said.

He also went on to call Kyva “one of the biggest scumbags, traitors and collaborators” and said his death was “justice,” as quoted by CBS News.

‘Soaked in Nazism’

Kyva, who was a member of the Ukrainian parliament before the Russian invasion, has been in Moscow throughout the war and often criticised officials in Kyiv online. The former lawmaker has been sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court to 14 years in prison for charges, including treason and incitement to violence.

As per AFP, before Russia began its “special military operation” in Ukraine, Kyva said the country has been “soaked by Nazism” and needed “liberating” by Moscow – echoing talking points which have regularly been used by Russian media, officials, even the country’s president in his speech since before launching the attack on Kyiv.

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Kyva had reportedly also written to Putin requesting Russian citizenship and fled to Moscow before the beginning of the war in February 2022. The next month, Kyva was officially expelled from the Ukrainian parliament and charged with high treason for colluding with Russia.

Another assassination by Kyiv?

In a separate incident, which also took place on Wednesday (Dec 6), a proxy lawmaker in Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region was killed in a car bombing attack, according to Russian investigators.

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The lawmaker identified as Oleg Popov, who served as a deputy in the pro-Moscow Lugansk regional parliament, was killed after the “detonation of an unidentified device in a car”, said Russia’s Investigative Committee without giving any further details about the incident.

(With inputs from agencies)

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