KYIV: Ukraine said on Wednesday it had orchestrated the assassination of a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician, after the body of an ex-lawmaker who had defected to Russia was found outside Moscow.

Since Russia invaded last February, Ukraine has claimed to be behind several assassinations and attacks on pro-war Russians and former Ukrainian officials who have backed Moscow.

A source in Ukraine’s defence sector said its security services had orchestrated the assassination of Illia Kyva, a a former Ukrainian lawmaker who was kicked out of parliament and defected to Russia weeks after Moscow launched its military offensive last year.

Russian news agencies reported Kyva’s body had been discovered on Wednesday in the Moscow suburbs.

Speaking on national TV, Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said: “We can confirm that Kyva is done. Such a fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine, as well as henchmen of the Putin regime.” Yusov called Kyva “one of the biggest scumbags, traitors and collaborators” and said his death was “justice”.

Kyiv used to rarely comment on whether it was behind a spate of killings of pro-Russia figures, both inside Russia and in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

But lately it has started to claim responsibility for a number of attacks and openly threatened to hunt down other “collaborators” and “traitors”.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2023