DUSHANBE, July 20, Asia-Plus — Prominent writer for the investigative
Ukrayinska Pravda
was driving to work when it was blown up.
A prominent journalist working for a Ukrainian online investigative newspaper has been killed by a car bomb in central Kiev.
Pavel Sheremet, who wrote for
Ukrayinska Pravda
, was driving to work in the car of the newspaper’s owner on Wednesday morning when it was blown up, an adviser to the interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, said.
According to
The Guardian
, two witnesses said they had heard a loud blast and saw an explosion from underneath the car, which lay charred in the middle of the street.
“I’m in shock, I don’t know what to say. It is a matter of honor for the police to investigate the case,” said the head of the national police force, Khatia Dekanoidze, according to
Interfax
. “I will personally take charge of the case,” the national police head noted.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Volodymyr Groysman, posted a message on Facebook saying: “The day has begun with terrible news. The prominent Ukrainian journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed this morning.”
The founder of
Ukrayinska Pravda
, investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze, was murdered 16 years ago. His body was found decapitated in a forest outside Kiev. The incident helped to precipitate Ukraine’s Orange revolution,
The Guardian
reported.
KyivPost
reports that Sheremet, 44, was a Belarusian journalist and TV host who has been working outside of Belarus for a long time. He previously worked in Russia as TV host and journalist before moving to Kyiv around five years ago.
Sheremet reportedly hosted a morning show on Radio Vesti. According to the radio”s website, the journalist was heading to the radio”s office to host his show when the car exploded.
Meanwhile Russia
RT
news agency reports well-known Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet has died in downtown Kiev when the car he was driving blew up minutes after it started. The vehicle belonged to his employer, the head of
Ukrayinska Pravda
(
UP
) newspaper.
Sheremet was a well-known Russian journalist and political analyst specializing in relations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as developments in former Soviet republics, according to
RT
. Over the last five years, Sheremet lived and worked in Ukraine, employed by the
UP
.
