Tusk: Murder of Russian artist Robert Kuzovkov bears the hallmarks of a political assassination

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk assessed today that the murder of Russian artist Robert Kuzovkov, who criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, bears the hallmarks of a political assassination.

Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead at close range on Monday near his home in the town of Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland, prosecutors said.

"Everything indicates that this is a political assassination," Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.

The Polish Prime Minister nevertheless called for evidence or more specific indications.

"Because if that is the case, if it was ordered by Russia, then it is an extremely serious matter from an international perspective. That would constitute state terrorism."

Polish investigators detained two Belarusian nationals at the beginning of the investigation, but Tusk said yesterday that they were released because authorities found no evidence that they were directly involved in the murder.

Tusk said the executive branch was still gathering evidence and called the case "complex."

"If we are dealing with a hired killer, it is unfortunately not easy to identify such a person," said the Polish prime minister, noting that his country's authorities had offered Skrepecky protection, but that he had refused.

Through his art, Skrepecki "expressed criticism of the current policies of the Russian authorities," Polish prosecutors said yesterday.

Skrepetsky painted portraits of Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and other high-ranking Russian officials, and the portraits are not flattering for these figures.

In one of the paintings, Skrapetsky depicted Putin as a child in the arms of Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin.

The day before he was killed, Skrapecki posted a video on his YouTube channel showing Putin throwing the Russian flag into a trash can - on the Russian national holiday of June 12th.

Investigators say the artist was approached by an unidentified man around 9:45 a.m. Monday, fired two shots at him, then fired three more at close range before fleeing. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds to the head, chest and back.

Since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has been accused of attempting to eliminate its opponents abroad, including activists who fled to France and Lithuania.