Poland detains suspect in fatal shooting of Russian artist critical of Putin, Tusk says

A ⁠suspect in ​the murder of a Russian national has been ​detained, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, after an artist critical of President Vladimir Putin ​was ‌shot dead in eastern ⁠Poland this week.

The suspect was detained by police in ‌cooperation with Poland's Internal Security Agency, Tusk said ⁠on X, adding that the man was using a Georgian passport. Local police ​in Lublin said the document belonged ‌to a 36-year-old man.

Prosecutors have said the victim, identified as Robert Kuzovkov and also known as ‌Semyon Skrepetsky, was hit by five bullets, including one to ​the head. Two Belarusians have also been detained in connection with the killing in the ​city of Biala Podlaska but have not been ​charged.

Skrepetsky was known for his sometimes provocative caricatures, which targeted prominent Russian political figures ranging from Putin and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

One of his best-known works reinterprets a classical Orthodox icon, depicting Stalin cradling Putin in place of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus.

Skrepetsky moved to Poland in 2021, saying he feared political persecution in Russia. 

In exile, he attended Russian opposition events while openly criticising the opposition itself. He had recently staged a protest in Berlin.

Authorities are working to identify the person who ordered the killing, Tusk said, without providing further details.

Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Minister of ⁠Foreign Affairs Wladyslaw Bartoszewski told Radio Zet that "Chechens, whom ⁠this man had ​heavily attacked, are also potentially suspected".

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)