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A top lawmaker says Russia is willing to help Ukraine investigate the murder of a Russian journalist.

Arkady Babchenko, who was scathingly critical of the Kremlin, was gunned down in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on Tuesday.

Babchenko fled Russia last year, fearing for his life, and settled in Ukraine. He had served in the Russian army during the two wars in Chechnya in 1990s and became one of Russia's best-known war reporters.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, told Russian news agencies Wednesday that Russia would be happy to help with the investigation if Ukrainian authorities requested it.

Ukrainian authorities have said they think Babchenko was killed because of his work. Several Ukrainian politicians blamed the Kremlin for the killing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed those comments as cynical.