The FBI will send investigators to Ukraine’s capital city after journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed Wednesday morning when a auto bomb detonated in downtown Kiev.
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We extend our sympathies to Mr. Sheremet’s partner, Olena Prytula, his family, and his colleagues at Ukrainska Pravda.
The Ukrainian government says Ms. Prytula will be placed under protection.
What caused the blast was not immediately clear, but subsequent reports attributed it to an explosive device installed in the vehicle. The bomb, which reduced the auto to a burnt-out wreck, is believed to have contained about 600 grams of TNT.
Moscow hopes for an objective and thorough investigation of Sheremet’s murder, Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“We are looking at all theories”, she said, adding that solving the murder was “very important” as it was “a matter of honour” for the Kiev police.
But journalists like current Ukrainska Pravda editor Sevgil Musaieva-Borovyk do not appear to put too much trust in Ukrainian officials’ words – and she said that Sheremet’s death follows a pattern of intimidation.
Pavel Sheremet, 44, was working for Ukrainska Pravda, the country’s top online publication.
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko gathered prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko, police chief Khatia Dekanoidze and head of the security service Vasily Hritsak to order an immediate investigation involving their best personnel. In 1997, Sheremet famously served three months in prison for illegally crossing the border between Belarus and Lithuania while reporting on how easy it is to illegally cross the border between Belarus and Lithuania. He worked as a television host and journalist in Russian Federation before moving to Kiev about five years ago.
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He was granted Russian citizenship in 2000. In subsequent years, he was frequently beaten and detained, including one 2004 incident in which he suffered a concussion at the hands of two unidentified men – then later faced charges of “hooliganism”. In July 2014, he left Russia’s Public Television (ORT) in protest of the Kremlin’s policies towards Ukraine and the “hounding” his superiors faced for his reporting.
