Semyon Skrepezki was shot dead near his Biala Podlaska apartment on June 15 around 9:50 a.m., according to the Lublin prosecutor's office. Three of the five shots were fired after Skrepezki had already collapsed on the ground. He died at the scene. The perpetrator fled but was apprehended three days later. Five shell casings and a nine millimeter Luger bullet were found at the crime scene.
This is the same ammunition that was used in the 2019 killing of Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin. Maxim Kusminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine, was also shot and killed with a weapon of the same caliber in 2024, reports independent Russian news outlet Agentstwo.
A politically motivated murder?
Skrepezki's suspected killer was arrested near the Polish capital Warsaw, according to a statement posted by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on X on June 18. The suspect was using a Georgian passport, according to Tusk and the Polish prosector's office. Polish authorities are now working to identify the person who orchestrated Skrepezki's murder, Tusk added.
Speaking at a press conference on the previous day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the murder bore all the hallmarks of a political assassination. Yet he also said further evidence and leads were required before reaching any conclusions. He stated that if the killing proved to be Russian-orchestrated, it would constitute a very serious incident of international significance, equating to "state terrorism."
