Keep our news free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work!
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.
Poland has charged a 22-year-old Georgian citizen with aiding and abetting the murder of Robert Kuzovkov (who went by the name of Semyon Skrepetsky), a Russian dissident killed near his home in Poland earlier this year.
The suspect, who can be named only as Makhmud A. under Polish privacy law, was captured on Monday, a day after flying into Poland. Earlier this year, another Georgian citizen, Elnur A., was detained and charged with committing the murder itself.
Warto przypomnieć:
▶️ Do egzekucji doszło w poniedziałek 15 czerwca 2026 roku rano na jednym z osiedli w Białej Podlaskiej, gdzie napastnik oddał do ofiary kilka strzałów z bliskiej odległości.
▶️ Zastrzelony to 44-letni obywatel Federacji Rosyjskiej, publicznie znany z… https://t.co/r1rZfsw1Bv— Jacek Dobrzyński (@JacekDobrzynski) October 22, 2026
Kuzovkov was shot five times near his home in the eastern Polish town of Biała Podlaska on 15 June. He was an artist whose work, published under the name Skrepetsky, focused on creating satirical cartoons mocking Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
He had fled Russia in 2021 due to fear of political prosecution. Before his death, Kuzovkov 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.
After the shooting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that “everything points to this being a political assassination”. He also revealed that Kuzavkov had previously been offered protection by the Polish authorities, but “for reasons unknown” had refused.
On 18 June, the Polish authorities announced they had captured Elnur A. in a hostel near Warsaw. The following day, he was charged with the murder of Kuzovkov. He has remained in custody since then.
Police have detained a man suspected of carrying out the murder of Russian dissident Semyon Skrepetsky, who was shot dead near his home in Poland this week.
"Everything points to this being a political assassination," says Prime Minister @donaldtusk https://t.co/z37sBBxgJn
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 18, 2026
On Thursday, Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office revealed that Makhmud A. had been detained on 19 October by the Internal Security Agency (ABW) in a car park along the A2 motorway.
The ABW itself confirmed that it detained the suspect after he flew to Poland from Georgia on 18 October. He had been travelling with two other Georgians, who will now be expelled from Poland and handed a 10-year re-entry ban.
Makhmud A. was subsequently charged with aiding and abetting the killing of Kuzovkov 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 additionally charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Makhmud A. is accused of providing the perpetrator with a weapon, means of transportation and a mobile phone with an application enabling monitoring of the victim’s vehicle, a spokeswoman for the district court in Lublin told broadcaster TVN.
The court has approved a period of three months’ detention for Makhmud A., with prosecutors saying that they fear he could otherwise “flee, go into hiding, or unlawfully obstruct proceedings”.
Under Polish law, someone found guilty of aiding and abetting a crime can face the same punishment as the person who committed the crime itself, meaning that both suspects face potential prison sentences of between 10 years and life if found guilty. They have pleaded not guilty.
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
The Polish authorities have not yet revealed who they believe was ultimately behind the murder of Kuzovkov. However, in June, Tusk said that, if Russia’s involvement was confirmed, it would be a case of “state terrorism”.
In recent years, Poland has become a primary target for Russia’s campaign of so-called “hybrid warfare”, which has involved acts of sabotage, disinformation, cyberattacks, and airspace violations.
Most known on-the-ground activity has been carried out not by Russian operatives themselves, but by so-called “disposable agents” hired through messaging service Telegram and paid in cryptocurrency. In some cases, Russia has used existing criminal networks to carry out such tasks.
Four men – three Ukrainians and a Belarusian – have gone on trial in Warsaw accused of being part of a criminal group that carried out a series of arson attacks in Poland and Lithuania on behalf of Russia https://t.co/i4czRb9DYZ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 12, 2026
Earlier this month, a trial began in Warsaw of four men – three Ukrainians and one Belarusian – accused of being part of a criminal group that carried out a series of arson attacks in Poland and Lithuania on Russian orders.
Shortly afterwards, Germany detained two Turkish men at the request of Poland, which believes they were responsible for the recent arson attack on a satellite internet ground station in Poland used by Starlink. Poland believes that incident was also carried out on behalf of Russia.
Last year, the interior ministry claimed that Poland is facing a growing wave of “imported crime”, committed in particular by immigrants from Georgia and other former Soviet states.
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.
Main image credit: ABW (under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)