Prominent pro-Russian journalist killed in Kiev

KIEV

 A prominent Ukrainian journalist with pro-Russian views was shot dead Thursday in Kiev, authorities have said.

The Kiev Police Department said Thursday in a statement that the journalist Oles Buzina, 45, was shot dead by two masked gunmen in front of his house in Kiev.

Police said that Buzina died immediately and that an investigation had been launched.

Buzina was known for his criticism of the new Ukrainian government and its military operations in eastern Ukraine. In recent years, he wrote analysis for several Ukrainian newspapers and magazines including “Kievski Vedomosti”, “Lider”, “Natali”, “Ego”, and “Segodnya”.

Buzina’s murder comes a day after a former member of Ukrainian Parliament, Oleh Kalashnikov, loyal to the ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, was killed in the Ukrainian capital. 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pointed out Thursday the need for prompt and transparent investigations of those murders.

“It is evident that these crimes have the same origin. Their nature and political sense are clear. It is a deliberate provocation that plays in favor of our enemies. It is aimed at destabilizing the internal political situation in Ukraine and discrediting the political choice of the Ukrainian people,” Poroshenko said in a statement published on his official website.  

“I demand the law enforcement bodies to find the executors and organizers of these murders in no time. Given the resonance of crimes, law enforcers should regularly inform the society on the results of their investigation,” he said.