WELCOME TO KTNBIO

Ukraine’s law enforcement authorities on Friday said that an unknown gunman shot and killed a prominent anti-Russian activist in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

The authorities did not name the 31-year-old victim, but Ukrainian media reported that it was Demian Hanul, a blogger who participated in the 2014 Maidan Revolution against Ukraine’s then pro-Russian president and was once a member of the radical far-right Right Sector group.

The National Police said on the Telegram messaging app that the incident was classified as a premeditated murder committed by order.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Volodymyrovych Klymenko, said he had received specific clues to help track down the suspect, stating that the head of the National Police was traveling to Odesa to lead the investigation.

Meanwhile, Russian state media had previously branded Hanul a neo-Nazi responsible for the arson attack on the Trade Union House in Odesa, referring to the deadly clashes between pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity in May 2014.

A Moscow court reportedly charged Hanul in absentia in April 2024 with several crimes, including damaging Soviet-era war monuments, for which he would have faced up to 20 years in prison.

Several media outlets reported last July that Hanul had requested Ukrainian police protection after receiving threats.