Polish authorities have detained a 22-year-old Georgian citizen identified only as Makhmud A suspected of aiding and abetting the murder of Russian satirical artist Robert Kuzovkov, also known by his pen name Semyon Skrepetsky, in June.
Kuzovkov, a 44-year-old Russian citizen, known for satirical drawings criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in the eastern Polish city of Biała Podlaska on 15 June 2026. Prosecutors have said he was shot five times while walking his dog near his home.
Kuzovkov fled Russia in 2021 over fears of political persecution. Before his death, he reported on social media that he had received death threats from supporters of Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin who had also been the subject of Kuzovkov’s satirical cartoons.
Poland’s secret service chief Tomasz Siemoniak announced the second arrest on Thursday, saying the suspect had been placed in three months of pre-trial detention by a court.
‘Officers of ABW have detained the second suspect in the case of the murder of a Russian citizen in Biała Podlaska, which took place in June this year’, Siemoniak wrote on X, referring to Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW).
The investigation is being conducted by the agency’s regional office in Lublin jointly with Polish police, under the supervision of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
Siemoniak added that the investigation was ongoing.
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office said Makhmud A had been detained by the ABW on 19 October in a car park along the A2 motorway.
The ABW said the suspect had arrived in Poland from Georgia on 18 October, accompanied by two other Georgian citizens. The two men are to be expelled from Poland and banned from re-entering the country for 10 years.
Makhmud A is accused of aiding and abetting Kuzovkov’s murder by ‘undertaking a number of actions in the period from 1 to 11 June 2026 that made it easier for Elnur A to commit the murder’. He is also charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
A spokeswoman for the district court in Lublin told broadcaster TVN that Makhmud A allegedly provided Elnur A with a weapon, transport, and a mobile phone equipped with an application that enabled the monitoring of Kuzovkov’s vehicle.
The court has ordered Makhmud A to remain in pre-trial detention for three months. Prosecutors argued that he could otherwise ‘flee, go into hiding, or unlawfully obstruct proceedings’.
The first suspect, a 36-year-old man identified as Elnur A, was arrested within 72 hours of the killing. The following day, Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office charged him with the murder. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 18 June that he held a Georgian passport.
Elnur A has not confessed to the crime and has refused to provide explanations during questioning, prosecutors have said. He was placed in three months of pre-trial detention over concerns that he might flee or destroy evidence. He has been held in custody since his arrest.
Polish media have also reported that Elnur A speaks Azerbaijani and had previously lived in Poland.
Two Belarusian citizens were also detained in connection with the case but were subsequently released.
The investigation is ongoing, and the role of the second suspect has not yet been established in court.