The committees of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, have been "instructed to prepare proposals to protect political and public figures" from Ukrainian attacks, Senator Konstantin Kosachev told Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti on Dec. 7.
Illia Kyva, a pro-Russian former lawmaker in the Ukrainian parliament, was found dead in Moscow Oblast on Dec. 6. According to the Kyiv Independent's source in law enforcement, he was assassinated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The SBU has not officially commented on the death of the lawmaker, who was convicted of treason on Nov. 13 by a court in Lviv, after his trial was conducted in absentia. Kyva fled Ukraine shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Kyva openly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, disseminating Russian propaganda through his Telegram channel. He published a post in April 2022 that said Russian President Vladimir Putin should use a "pre-emptive strike" on Ukraine, interpreted by some as an implicit encouragement to utilize nuclear weapons.
"Such a fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine," Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on air shortly after the news of his death broke.
Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the murder, which they said took place as Kyva took a walk in a park in a Moscow suburb.
Russian investigators found two pistol cases and a cartridge at the scene and also conducted a search of Kyva's car and hotel room, which had been his home "in recent months," investigators said on Dec. 7.
Two gunshots were found on his body, and he "died on the spot of his injuries."
Investigators said they are questioning witnesses and examining forensic evidence.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
