Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Exiled Russian Artist Semyon Skrepetsky Shot Dead in Poland

Detentions of two Belarusian nationals have raised concern that the targeted killing may be a politically ordered cross‑border attack.

Overview

  • Polish authorities say a 44‑year‑old Russian citizen was shot multiple times on a parking lot in Biała Podlaska and that the attack appears to have been a planned, close‑range killing.
  • Prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday that two Belarusian nationals were detained and are under investigation but no charges have been filed and inquiries are continuing.
  • The victim was identified by opposition media as Semyon Skrepetsky, a satirical artist who lived in Poland since 2021 and who staged an anti‑Putin performance in Berlin days before the killing after which he reported receiving threats.
  • Investigators sealed roads, secured exit routes, increased protection at local schools, and said forensic evidence shows the shooter fired additional shots as the victim lay on the ground.
  • Poland’s prime minister described the case as showing the features of a political murder and the killing joins a pattern of attacks on Kremlin critics abroad that could heighten diplomatic tensions and prompt wider security reviews in Europe.