Former Russian lawmaker shot dead in Ukraine

KIEV / AP

A former Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov was shot and killed in Kiev on Thursday in what the Ukrainian president described as an “act of state terrorism” by Russia, an accusation that has been quickly rejected by the Kremlin.
President Petro Poroshenko said Voronenkov’s killing “clearly shows the handwriting of Russian special services shown repeatedly in various European capitals in the past.”
In a statement released by his spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, Poroshenko described the victim as a key witness who gave testimony about “Russian aggression” to the Ukrainian authorities.Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, dismissed the claim of Russian involvement in the killing as “absurd” in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.Voronenkov, 45, a former member of the communist faction in the lower house of Russian parliament, had moved to Ukraine last fall and had been granted Ukrainian citizenship.