Russian artist killed in Biała Podlaska. Five shots at close range
Russian artist Semyon Skrepezki, a vocal critic of the Kremlin, was shot dead in Biała Podlaska. Polish police have detained a suspect.
Russian artist killed in Biała Podlaska. Five shots at close range
Russian artist and vocal Kremlin critic Semyon Skrepezki was shot dead in Biała Podlaska on Monday. The man was killed by five shots fired at close range.
Skrepezki, whose real name is Robert Kusowkow, had been living in exile in the eastern Polish town since 2021. The artist regularly mocked Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov and Alexander Lukashenko. He also did not spare Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian opposition.
According to reports in the magazine Spiegel (paywall), three bullets first struck Skrepezki. When he fell to the ground, the perpetrator fired two more shots. The murder bore the hallmarks of a classic contract killing.
Polish authorities said the artist had refused police protection despite having previously received threats.
Shortly after the murder, police detained two Belarusian citizens. After questioning, they were released – the authorities did not have sufficient evidence against them.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced another detention. Officers are nearly certain they have apprehended the perpetrator of the shooting. The man was carrying a suspicious Georgian passport. He was detained in Piasków near Warsaw.
Special services coordinator Tomasz Siemoniak stated that the detainee has a criminal history. As he added, employing criminals as one-time operatives is a known method used by foreign intelligence services.
Prime Minister Tusk announced that services are working to identify the person who ordered the killing. On Wednesday, he called this murder a "political assassination". If Russian involvement is confirmed, the incident would take on – as he emphasised – "a very serious international dimension".
Warsaw is noting an escalation in destabilising activities. In 2024, a shopping centre caught fire – according to the Polish government as a result of arson ordered by Russian services. In November 2025, there was an attack on the strategic railway line Warsaw–Lublin. In September 2025, around twenty Russian drones breached Polish airspace. In February 2026, a defence ministry employee was exposed as a suspected Russian spy. Polish and Ukrainian services also thwarted a plan to assassinate President Zelensky at Rzeszów airport.
Security expert Jacek Raubo from the University of Poznań warns that if Moscow is behind this, there is a risk of attacks on citizens of NATO countries who are critical of Putin or engaged in support of Ukraine.
Andrzej Szabaciuk from the Institute of Central Europe in Lublin believes the murder may have been a warning against mocking dictators. According to the PAP agency, Szabaciuk points to Ramzan Kadyrov's entourage as the most likely person who ordered the killing.
Source: GMX.AT
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)