On 15 June, the Polish media outlets wPolityce.pl, wPolsce24 and Tygodnik Podlaski reported the murder of a 44-year-old Russian national in the town of Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland. According to reports, he was shot dead on the morning of 15 June in a residential area. One suspect has been arrested.
According to unofficial reports in the Polish media, the victim was a Russian artist named Semen Skrepetsky (a pseudonym; his real name is Robert Kuzovkov), the creator of satirical paintings sharply criticising Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov and the war in Ukraine, who had left Russia for political reasons.
NEXTA and SOTA have also reported that it was Skrepetsky who was killed. The publication notes that on 12 June, the artist staged a performance in Berlin mocking Russia Day. About an hour before the murder, as noted by The Insider, he wrote on his Telegram channel that the protest had “gone down very well with Russian patriots” and that he was receiving threats.
According to Polish media reports, the attacker approached Skrepetsky and fired several shots at him at close range. Some reports suggest there were two attackers.
DzikMedia reports that the alleged attackers were driven to the scene of the crime by a taxi driver from Belarus, who was threatened at gunpoint. One of the attackers was subsequently detained in Biała Podlaska near the Belarusian consulate; according to unconfirmed reports, he is a Belarusian citizen.
Officials have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim or disclosed any motives. Polish media have put forward the theory that the murder may have been linked to Skrepetsky’s views. The investigation into this case is being led by the district prosecutor’s office in Lublin and the security services.