Pro-Russia Ukrainian politician shot dead near Moscow

Illia Kyva, a former pro-Russian member of Ukraine’s parliament who had been residing in Russia during the conflict, was shot and killed in a park in the Odintsovo region, southwest of Moscow.

Russian investigators have begun a murder investigation, saying they have no suspects at present. An anonymous Ukrainian source implicated the SBU security service in Kyva’s death, while Andriy Yusov from Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency confirmed Kyva’s demise without specifying the responsible party.

Kyva had received a 14-year prison sentence in absentia from a Ukrainian court on charges of treason and incitement to violence. This event follows the survival of another pro-Russian ex-parliamentarian, Oleg Tsaryov, in a previous assassination attempt in Crimea.

Several pro-war Russian figures, including journalist Darya Dugina, war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, and former submarine commander Stanislav Rzhitsky, have been assassinated during the conflict, with Moscow attributing the operations to Ukraine.