Former Russian lawmaker critical of Moscow is shot dead in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine - A former Russian lawmaker who became a vociferous critic of Moscow after his recent move to Ukraine was shot dead in Kiev Thursday, prompting another war of words between the two countries.

Denis Voronenkov, who testified to Ukrainian investigators and criticized Russian policies after his move to Kiev last fall, was killed by an unidentified gunman near the entrance of an upscale hotel in the Ukrainian capital.

During the attack, Voronenkov’s bodyguard, who fired back, was wounded. Both were hospitalized, but Ukrainian officials said the gunman, who they claimed was a Ukrainian citizen, died from wounds to his chest and head.

Footage after the exchange of gunfire showed the three men lying on the sidewalk. Voronenkov’s bodyguard, a Ukrainian security services officer, was seen rolling on the ground and then being helped to an ambulance by paramedics.

The killing prompted an angry exchange between the two countries whose relations have soured badly in recent years after Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Voronenkov’s killing was an “act of state terrorism” that “clearly shows the handwriting of Russian special services shown repeatedly in various European capitals in the past.”

In a statement released by his spokesman, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, Poroshenko described the victim as a key witness who gave testimony about “Russian aggression” to Ukrainian authorities.