According to the Lublin Prosecutor’s Office, Simeon Skrapezki was shot dead near his Biała Podlaska apartment around 9:50 a.m. on 15 June. Three of the five shots were fired after Skrapezki had already fallen to the ground. He died at the scene. The criminal fled but was caught three days later. Five shell casings and one nine millimeter Luger bullet were found at the crime scene.
This is the same ammunition that was used in the 2019 assassination of Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin. Maxim Kusminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who fled to Ukraine, was also shot and killed with the same caliber weapon in 2024, independent Russian news outlets reported. agent2.
Politically motivated murder?
According to a statement posted by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on June 18, Skrępski’s suspected killer was arrested near the Polish capital, Warsaw. According to Tusk and the Polish prosecutor’s office, the suspect was using a Georgian passport. Polish authorities are now working to identify the person who planned Skrepzki’s murder, Tusk said.
Speaking at a press conference the previous day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the killing showed all the hallmarks of a political assassination. Yet he also said that additional evidence and clues are needed before any conclusions can be reached. He said that if the assassination proved to be Russian-inspired, it would be a very serious incident of international significance, tantamount to “state terrorism”.
Polish media outlets have described Skrapezki as a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and have speculated whether his murder may have been a contract killing. “It looked like an execution,” an official familiar with the case told the Polish news portal. onet.
Belarusian performance artist Vlad Bokhan, who was in contact with Skrepzky shortly before his death, also believes that his murder may have been politically motivated. Bokhan told DW that the murder could have had two purposes, first, “to eliminate and intimidate a person.” “This murder sends a message to those who are involved in similar activities,” the artist said.
berlin protest
Skrapezky was born Robert Kuzovkov in 1981 in Russia. He lived in the Altai region of Siberia until 2021, after which he fled to Poland, fearing political persecution, where he was granted protected status.
He was best known for his political cartoons, including depictions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
They also organized protests in various cities across Europe. Skrapezki had published a post on his Telegram channel just hours before his death showing screenshots of threats he had received following his most recent protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin on 12 June.
During the protest, Skrapezki showed one of his caricatures depicting Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin holding Russian President Putin, depicted as a child, in his arms. A Russian flag was stuck to a hole in Skrapezki’s trousers and was dragging on the ground. He later threw the flag in the dustbin.
“I think that after that incident in Berlin, someone gave the order to eliminate him,” Andrzej, a Belarusian migrant activist in Biała Podlaska, told DW. For security reasons Andrzej does not want to reveal his real name.
Andrzej met Skrapezki in 2021. At that time, Skrapezki repeatedly participated in anti-war protests organized by Belarusians and Ukrainians in Biała Podlaska.
Andrzej last saw Skrepzki last week. He says Skrepzki seemed “a little scared.” Andrzej told DW that Biała Podlaska is a quiet and safe town and that’s why Skrepzki chose to live there. “There’s no secret here,” DW reported. “You know every car, every person.” He added that “Skrepczky has five children. His wife is pregnant with their sixth child; it’s easy for a big family to live in this small town.”
Bokhan said Skrapezki has recently focused on organizing new street demonstrations. “We spoke to each other less than 24 hours before he was murdered,” Bokhan told DW. “He talked about new ideas and suggested we do something together in Warsaw or Berlin, he wanted to keep working and making plans.”
However, Bokhan also said that Skrepzky was receiving constant threats from various sources. Skrapezky was also critical of the Ukrainian authorities. This led to Skrapezky’s personal information – including his address and social media aliases – being published in a controversial Ukrainian database hosted by an internet platform called Myrtorze, which translates to “peacemaker” in English. It lists individuals deemed “to pose a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
This article was originally published in Russian.