Kremlin dismisses accusations of killing as ‘absurd’

A former Russian MP, wanted by Moscow for fraud, was shot dead in broad daylight in the heart of the Ukrainian capital on Thursday in what Kiev branded “state terrorism”.

Kiev police chief Andriy Kryshchenko confirmed in televised comments that “the identity of the dead man has been established” as former Communist lawmaker Denis Voronenkov.

Police were weighing the possibility that Mr. Voronenkov was targeted in a contract killing “considering the identity of the victim, his activities and how the crime was carried out” Mr. Kryshchenko said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko blamed Russia for what he said was a “cunning murder”, saying Mr. Voronenkov’s killing was an “act of state terrorism”, his spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov swiftly dismissed Kiev’s accusations as “absurd” in comments to Russian news agencies.

Mr. Voronenkov’s bodyguard and the gunman were both injured in the shootout and were being treated in hospital, Mr. Kryshchenko said, adding that the gunman’s identity had yet to be established.

The shooting occurred at around 11.30 a.m. (0930 GMT) in the centre of the Ukrainian capital, police said. Mr. Voronenkov and his wife Maria Maksakova, also a former lawmaker and a well-known opera singer, left Russia for Ukraine last year.

Mr. Voronenkov received Ukrainian citizenship in December after he testified against Ukraine’s ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February 2014 amid pro-Western protests.

Mr. Voronenkov told Ukrainian media in February that he had repeatedly received threats from Russian security services.

Ban on singer

Also, the Kremlin said on Thursday that it hoped Kiev would reconsider its decision to ban Yuliya Samoilova, a Russian singer, from the Eurovision Song Contest over a past performance in Russia-annexed Crimea.

Ukraine’s security service on Wednesday imposed a three-year entry ban on Ms. Samoilova for illegally entering Moscow-annexed Crimea to take part in a 2015 gala concert.