Face down in the snow: a traitorous deputy killed by Ukrainian agents in Moscow

Ilya Kiva fled to Russia after the Ukrainian invasion in 2022 but was shot dead earlier this month. Photo: Getty Images

Ukraine has released images that appear to show the corpse of a former lawmaker they allegedly killed in Moscow as a warning to other Russian collaborators.

Ilya Kiva, a pro-Kremlin opposition politician who fled to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was shot dead on December 6 by a Ukrainian assassin.

On Monday, Ukraine's state news agency published an image showing his corpse lying face down on snow drenched in blood.< /p> The alleged location of the murder of former Ukrainian deputy Ilya Kiva

“This is a signal to all traitors and war criminals, went over to the side of the enemy,” said a source in the SBU SBU.

“Remember: Russia will not protect you. As the head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk previously stated, death is the only prospect that awaits the enemies of Ukraine.”

46-year-old Kiva was sentenced in absentia by a Kyiv court to 14 years in prison. for treason last year.

He was sanctioned by Britain for undermining Ukraine's sovereignty and regularly criticized his homeland on Russian state television talk shows.

Investigators search for evidence near the site of Kyva's murder Photo: AP

Russian officials were caught by surprise last week when they discovered his body, despite rumors that he had a heavy security presence.

< p>“An unknown person shot at the victim with an unidentified weapon,” the investigative committee said after the incident in the prestigious Moscow suburb of Odintsovo.

An SBU source said the killer stalked Mr Kiva for several weeks to identify his habits and daily routine before “liquidating” him near where he was filming anti-Ukrainian propaganda videos.

Knife and gun photographed at murder scene

Another photo released by the news agency shows a small knife and black gun said to have been used in impact.

He also posted a video that he claimed showed Mr Kiva walking before he died. The message said it was filmed by the killer waiting to attack.

He is said to have been a top priority on the SBU's high-profile «Malyuk» target list, named after his boss.

“A similar fate will befall other traitors to Ukraine, as well as henchmen of the Putin regime,” Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), said last week.