Kiev [Ukraine], December 7: The body of former Ukrainian opposition MP Ilya Kiva (IlliaKyva) was found with a bullet wound in the head on the outskirts of the Russian capital Moscow in a suspected assassination.
TASS news agency quoted information from Russian emergency forces saying that the body believed to be that of former Ukrainian parliamentarian Ilya Kiva was discovered in the grounds of a hotel in Suponevo village, Odintsovo district, Moscow region on December 6.
The victim lay face down in a pool of blood in the snow, with a wound on the body's head. "An unknown person shot the victim multiple times with an unidentified weapon. The man died on the spot from injuries," Reuters quoted the announcement of the Russian Investigative Committee. Police are examining the scene and Russian officials have not commented on the incident.
Mr. Ilya Kiva (46 years old) is said to be a pro-Russian parliamentarian, elected to the Ukrainian parliament in 2019 as a member of the opposition Platform-for-Life party, once led by pro-Russian figure Viktor Medvedchuk and is now banned.
Mr. Kiva was expelled from the Ukrainian parliament in March 2022. He is a supporter of Russia's military campaign and a critic of Ukraine's leadership. He left Ukraine shortly before Russia launched its operation on February 24, 2022.
In April 2022, he wrote a letter calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to grant him citizenship and political asylum. At the same time, he posted an article on Telegram calling on Putin to pre-emptively attack Ukraine.
In November, Mr. Kiva was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison by a court in Lviv (Ukraine) for treason and many other crimes.
The Kyiv Independent website quoted a law enforcement source as saying that Mr. Kiva was assassinated in a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
In a televised statement after the news of Mr. Kiva's death appeared, Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov confirmed Mr. Kiva's death and said: "Such a fate will befall traitors." other units of Ukraine".
In another incident on December 6, Russian-backed politician in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine Oleg Popov was killed in a car bomb. Russia's Investigative Committee said Mr. Popov died after the car exploded due to an unknown device inside. The Kyiv side has not commented on this case. Mr. Popov is a member of the Luhansk regional legislature established by Russia.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
