A man who was shot in the center of Kyiv on July 3 died in hospital later in the day, the National Police reported on July 4.
The assassination has happened near the Azerbaijani restaurant Dolma on Velyka Vasylkivska Street, in the vicinity of the Palats Ukraina concert hall.
The police did not release the name of the man, saying they wanted to protect private information, but did say that the murder victim was around 30 years old.
According to the police, the shooter escaped from the scene. The police have started criminal proceedings and are currently searching for the killer.
The Head of the Kyiv National Police Andrii Kryshchenko said that there were at least two suspects, as the shooter came to the scene in a car that later disappeared, driven by another person.
“Police have a number of theories, and one of them is undoubtedly that this was a contract killing. However, this will become clear after establishing the victim’s personal details, his connections and way of life,” Kryshchenko said in a statement on the National Police’s website.
The police refused to give more information to the Kyiv Post.
The lawmaker from Oleh Lyashko Radical Party Ihor Mosiychuk said in his Facebook post on July 3 that the murdered man was Azerbaijani Davud Agaev, whom he said was close to crime boss Oleg Bakinsky.
According to Mosiychuk, the shooting was a contract killing involving a criminal gang.
“And after this can anyone deny that ethnic criminal groups are present in our country?” the lawmaker’s Facebook post reads.
In comments to the Kyiv Post, Mosiychuk said he had been told the identity of the man from his sources in law enforcement.
