The former deputy in the Russian Duma Denis Voronenkov has been killed in front of a hotel in Kiev, confirmed Ukrainian authorities.

President Petro Poroshenko described the murder as “an act of terrorism on the part of Russia”. “The clear signature of the Russian special services has appeared several times across different European capitals.”

According to the chief of police in Kiev, Andrey Krischenko, on Thursday, about lunchtime, there was a shooting near the entrance of the Premier Palace hotel. Voronenkov was coming out of the hotel with a bodyguard at the time. The former deputy died while the shooter managed to shoot the bodyguard but the bodyguard managed to return fire and hit the attacker.

Voronenkov emigrated to Ukraine in October 2016 and, since December, he had only Ukrainian citizenship.

In February, Russian authorities began searching for him on charges of embezzlement. This month, a Moscow court ordered the arrest in absentia of the former deputy. According to TASS, he gave testimony to the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office on a case for treason against the deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The police are treating the case as contract murder. The head of the Ukrainian Security Services announced at a press conference that this was a special operation, while the Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko linked the case directly with Russia and the trial against Yanukovych and described it as “elimination of witnesses typical of the Kremlin”.

The Kremlin has confirmed that President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the murder but refused further comments.

“This is not a topic that concerns us,” stated Putin’s spokesperson.

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