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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Polish prosecutors have confirmed that the man shot dead in Poland on Monday was a Russian dissident who went by the name Semyon Skrepetsky. They have also announced that two Belarusians have been detained in relation to the incident, in which the victim was shot five times.
Skrepetsky (whose real name was Robert Kuzovkov) was shot on a street in the town of Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland, where he had been living. After the incident occurred on Monday, the Polish authorities initially confirmed only that a 44-year-old Russian man had been killed, without providing further details.
However, Polish media quickly reported that the victim was Skrepetsky, who fled Russia in 2021 due to the fear of political persecution. His work focused on creating satirical cartoons mocking Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Days before his death, he had held a protest outside the Russian embassy in Berlin.
A Russian man has been shot dead in Poland, with reports indicating that he was an artist whose work ridiculed Putin and that his killing appeared to be an “execution”.
However, the authorities have not yet officially identified the victim or any suspects https://t.co/Zd2u7IE0A0
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 15, 2026
In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, the district prosecutor’s office in Lublin, which is handling the investigation into Skrepetsky’s death, confirmed that he was the victim.
“The victim engaged in public artistic activities, using the pseudonym Simon Skrepetski, among others, through which he expressed criticism of the current policies of the Russian authorities,” they wrote, using an alternative version of Skrepetsky’s name.
According to investigators’ findings so far, Skrepetsky was approached in the street near his home by an unidentified man, who fired two shots at him with a handgun. After the victim fell to the ground, the assailant fired three more shots at him, then fled. Skrepetsky died at the scene.
Local police immediately began a manhunt for the perpetrator, as a result of which they detained two Belarusians, aged 33 and 37, near the Belarusian consulate in Biała Podlaska. “Their roles in the incident are being investigated,” say prosecutors.
At a press conference, Marcin Kozak, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, confirmed that no charges have yet been brought against the two detainees. He also did not rule out further arrests.
“At this time, we will not disclose any further information regarding the findings and intentions of this investigation,” said Kozak, quoted by news website Interia. “We do not want to make it easier for the perpetrator or perpetrators to hide, cover their tracks, or otherwise undermine this investigation.”
Najnowsze ustalenia w sprawie zabójstwa 44-letniego obywatela Federacji Rosyjskiej w Białej Podlaskiej.https://t.co/Oe0UO8tqAf
— Prokuratura Okręgowa w Lublinie (@Prok_Okreg_Lub) June 16, 2026
Before his death, Skrepetsky had reported on social media that he had received death threats from supporters of Chechen leader and Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, who had also been the subject of the artist’s satirical cartoons.
He said that they had established his home address and had called him, giving him two days to apologise or face the consequences, reports news website Onet.
On Tuesday afternoon, Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s national security advisor, Bartosz Grodecki, wrote on social media that, “if the political background of this killing is confirmed, we will be dealing with yet another manifestation of Russia’s escalating actions conducted beyond its borders”.
The investigation “is not only about establishing the circumstances of the murder, but also about the security of the state”, he added.
In recent years, Poland has become a primary target for Russia’s campaign of so-called “hybrid warfare”, including sabotage, arson, disinformation and cyberattacks, as well as drone incursions.
Zabójstwo w Białej Podlaskiej wymaga pełnego i dogłębnego zbadania.
Jeżeli potwierdzi się polityczne tło tej zbrodni, będziemy mieli do czynienia z kolejnym przejawem eskalujących działań Rosji prowadzonych poza jej granicami.
Polska nie może stać się przestrzenią dla takich…
— Bartosz Grodecki (@BartoszGrodecki) June 16, 2026
Poland is the "primary focus" of Russia's sabotage campaign in Europe, finds a new report by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism.
Among 151 incidents identified since 2022, 31 of them took place in Poland – more than in any other country https://t.co/QXfSI00FD6
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 3, 2026
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Image and video credit: Simon Skrepetski/Facebook
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
