Ukrainian MP found shot dead in Kiev home

Authorities have not confirmed circumstances of activist politician's death

Ukrainian policemen guard entrance to the home of Ukrainian lawmaker Dmytro Tymchuk in Kiev, Ukraine, 19 June 2019. EPA/STEPAN FRANKO

A prominent Ukrainian MP has been found shot dead in his home in the capital Kiev.

Although Anton Herashchenko, another member of Ukraine's Parliament, told 112 Ukraina TV that Dmytro Tymchuk died in an accident, an investigation is trying to confirm the circumstances of his death.

"Tymchuk's wife called the police," Mr Herashchenko said. "She said that her husband was cleaning his pistol and fatally wounded himself. Before the ambulance arrived, Tymchuk died."

He reported his colleague's death on Facebook, saying: “We all miss you very much."

But it is not yet certain whether he was murdered, killed himself or shot himself accidentally, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.

Police say it is possible that the politician was assassinated.

Tymchuk has been a vocal critic of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, often using his “Information Resistance” blog to update his followers.

The blog sought to expose Russian military involvement in the conflict.

Only days before his body was found, Tymchuk summarised in a Facebook post the latest fighting along the line dividing government forces and eastern separatists, who he called "Russian occupation forces".

He gained prominence as a blogger after he reported details about Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February and March 2014.

After establishing the “Information Resistance” website, Tymchuk became a member of Ukraine's Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in October 2014 as a candidate of the People's Front party.