Former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva found dead in Moscow region

Ukrainian media say Ukraine’s Security Service was behind it

Illia Kyva, a former deputy in Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, was found dead in the Moscow region*’s* Odintsovsky district, report Russian state news media RIA Novosti and RBC, citing emergency services. His body was found in a pool of blood in the snow in the Velich Country Club’s park, according to the Telegram channel Mash. The Velich Country Club told news outlet Msk1 that there was “some kind of mistake” and “everything is calm at the hotel.

A hotel employee found Kyva’s body on December 6, around 3:00 p.m. local time, reports Telegram channel Baza. According to VCHK-OGPU, another Telegram channel, he was found next to the hotel’s cottage, where he was living. According to the reports, Kyva was shot in the park and then walked along the path toward the main hotel building, while bleeding. Mash reports there was a slash wound on Kyva’s right temple and a hematoma on the left side of his face. Telegram channels Shot and Baza report that Kyva was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.”

Ukrainian media Ukrainska Pravda, Suspilne, and Hromadske reported that Kyva was killed as a result of a Ukrainian Security Service special operation, referencing anonymous sources. He was reportedly killed by a firearm. Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, also told Suspilne that Kyva was killed: “We can confirm that Kyva’s done. And such a fate will strike other traitors of Ukraine, as well as the henchmen of Putin’s regime.” Russian propagandist and RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, as well as former Ukrainian lawmaker Oleg Tsaryov, also reported that Kyva had been killed. The Office of the President of Ukraine declined Meduza’s request for comment on Kyva’s death.

Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that it had opened a criminal case into the killing of Illia Kyva. “According to preliminary information, an unidentified man fired shots at the victim with an unidentified weapon in the park in one of the cottages in the village of Suponevo, located in the Odintsovsky district. The man died from his injuries at the scene. The murdered person’s identity has been established as a former deputy of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, Illia Kyva,” reads a statement by the Moscow region’s Investigative Committee.

Illia Kyva was a Ukrainian politician from the city of Poltava, who supported Russia. Kyva was a former member of the nationalist organization the Right Sector, before later joining the pro-Russian party Opposition Platform — For Life. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Illia Kyva advocated for Russia and Ukraine to unite. He also supported Russian President Vladimir Putin. In March 2022, the Verkhovna Rada stripped Kyva of his parliamentary mandate. In November 2023, a Ukrainian court sentenced the former lawmaker to 14 years imprisonment in absentia on charges of treason.

Illia Kyva is often featured in Russian propaganda. Russian state news media RIA Novosti published his comments about the war and the Ukrainian leadership several times per month.