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Russian State Duma speaker warns Ukraine increasingly turning into terrorist state

State Duma speaker has commented on Kiev’s response to the murder of the Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov
Chairman of Russia’s State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Chairman of Russia’s State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Ukraine is turning into a terrorist country where laws do not work, Speaker of Russia’s State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, told TASS on Friday.

"Such statements can only be made on the basis of the investigation," he said commenting on Kiev’s response to the murder of ex-Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov, including on remarks by President Pyotr Poroshenko who called it "an act of state terrorism" on the part of Russia. "There was no probe yet, and it is unlikely to be impartial considering the current situation in Ukraine. That’s why all statements made instantly are an attempt, on the one hand, to shuffle off the blame on to someone else. On the other hand, everything suggests that all that may have been orchestrated."

"Certainly, one should express one’s viewpoint only after a report by the law enforcement agencies," the speaker said. Judging by what is going on in Ukraine, "this is hardly possible, because Ukraine is increasingly turning into a terrorist state where laws do not work, and all these statements look like some kind of agony," he noted.

"Of course, it would be right for them to investigate the incident, to study this situation, to understand who is behind it, what the reason is and then make statements." 

The case

Voronenkov was gunned down in a shootout in Kiev on Thursday, the chief of Kiev’s police force, Andrey Krishchenko said earlier. The incident occurred in broad daylight at the entrance to Premier-Palace Hotel.

Voronenkov was a member of the Communist faction in the previous, 6th State Duma. In December 2014 Russia’s Investigative Committee asked the State Duma to strip him of immunity in connection with a criminal case over a hostile takeover of a building in the center of Moscow. In April 2015, the IC asked the Prosecutor-General’s Office for permission to indict Voronenkov on criminal charges. On February 15, 2017, a decision was made to bring him to justice in the capacity of an accused on falsification and fraud charges.

In December 2016, Voronenkov emigrated to Kiev where he was granted Ukrainian citizenship.