Russian dissident artist shot dead in eastern Poland

A Russian dissident artist known for his satirical caricatures of President Vladimir Putin was shot and killed in eastern Poland on Monday, in what authorities are investigating as a targeted assassination. The victim, identified as 44-year-old Robert Kuzovkov, who used the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was gunned down in a parking lot in the city of Biała Podlaska, located approximately 40 kilometers from the Belarusian border and close to the Belarusian consulate.

Polish prosecutors confirmed the killing occurred on the morning of June 15. According to Marcin Kozak, a spokesman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, an unidentified gunman approached the artist and fired two shots. After Kuzovkov fell to the ground, the assailant approached and fired three more shots at close range before fleeing the scene. Kuzovkov died at the location from five gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and back. Investigators recovered five shell casings and a Geco 9mm Luger bullet from the crime scene.

In the wake of the shooting, Polish police launched a major manhunt and detained two Belarusian citizens, aged 33 and 37, near the Belarusian consulate in Biała Podlaska. Authorities have not...