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Russian Defector Critical of Putin Shot Dead in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin / AP
March 23, 2017

A former Russian member of parliament who fled to Ukraine after mounting heavy criticism against President Vladimir Putin was shot dead in Kiev on Thursday.

Denis Voronenkov, a former Communist member in the lower house of Russian parliament, was fatally shot by an unidentified gunman at the entrance of a high-end hotel in the Ukrainian capital, authorities confirmed, according to the Guardian.

Voronenkov moved to Ukraine in late 2016 because he said Kremlin security agencies were pursuing him. He renounced his Russian citizenship and was soon after granted Ukrainian citizenship.

Voronenkov criticized Putin and his policies, including the 2014 annexation of Crimea, in several interviews after his defection. Ilya Ponomarev, another former Russian MP who fled the country, said Voronenkov was on his way to a meeting with him when he was killed.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already denied any connection to the shooting.

"We believe that any allegations that are already being heard of the notorious Russian trace are absurd," Peskov said, according to Sputnik.

Voronenkov is the latest in a series of Kremlin critics who have suddenly suffered critical injuries or death.

On Tuesday, a Russian lawyer who represents the family of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower who mysteriously died in Moscow while in custody, was severely injured after falling from his fourth-floor apartment.

Russian media claims Nikolai Gorokhov fell from his apartment while attempting to lift a bathtub through the window, according to ABC News. It remains unclear what actually occurred.

Gorokhov was set to appear on Wednesday in a Moscow appeals court to challenge its refusal to hear a complaint filed by Magnitsky's mother. He remains hospitalized in serious condition with head injuries.

Published under: Russia , Ukraine