Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk Wednesday said the killing of a who was critical of President Vladimir Putin has the hallmarks of a political assassination.
Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot and killed at close range near his home in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska on Monday, prosecutors said Tuesday.
鈥淓verything points to this being a political murder,” Tusk said at a news briefing in Warsaw. 鈥淏ut we must wait for evidence or more concrete indications. Because if that was the case 鈥� if it was ordered by Russia 鈥� then it is an extremely serious matter internationally. It would constitute state terrorism.鈥�
Polish investigators initially detained two Belarusian citizens but Tusk said Tuesday that they had been released because authorities had no evidence that they were directly involved in the killing.
Tusk stressed that law enforcement authorities are still collecting evidence.
鈥淭he case is difficult. If there鈥檚 a hired killer involved, it鈥檚 unfortunately not easy to identify such a person,鈥� Tusk said, adding that Skrepetsky had been offered protection by Polish authorities but he had refused it.
Through his art, Skrepetsky 鈥渆xpressed criticism of the current policies of the Russian authorities,鈥� Polish prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday.
He painted unflattering portraits of Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and other high-ranking Russian officials. One depicts Putin being cradled in the arms of the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
On Sunday, he posted a video on his YouTube channel showing him in Berlin putting a Russian flag in a trash can on June 12, the holiday marking Russia鈥檚 sovereignty.
Prosecutors said the artist was approached near his home around 9:45 a.m. Monday by an unidentified man who fired two shots at him, then shot him three more times at close range before fleeing. Prosecutors said the victim died at the scene of gunshot wounds to the head, chest and back.
Russia has been accused of trying to , including targeting exiled activists in France and Lithuania.
Officials in Germany have also broken up plots targeting the head of a to Ukraine and .
Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 in what they said was . That same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected with Russian operatives as the prime suspects.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
