On the morning of June 15, a 44-year-old Russian citizen was killed in the city of Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland. According to local police, the man was shot several times with a firearm on Królowej Jadwigi Street, near the parking lot of a residential building. The attacker fled, and a search has been launched.
Several outlets—wPolityce.pl, wPolsce24, Polsat News, as well as the Telegram channels Nexta and SOTA—write that the victim may be the cartoonist and performance artist Semyon Skrepetsky, known for satirical works about Vladimir Putin and Joseph Stalin. The identity of the man killed has not yet been officially confirmed.
Skrepetsky left Russia for Poland in 2021 and lived with his family in Biała Podlaska. On June 12, he staged a performance in Berlin timed to Russia Day.
Semyon Skrepetsky with one of his paintings.
According to Polish media, the attacker approached the man and fired several shots at close range. It has not been ruled out that two people were involved in the attack. According to the Telegram channel DzikMedia, the perpetrator was brought to the scene by a taxi driver from Belarus—he was threatened with a pistol, after which he tried to take shelter on the grounds of the Belarusian consulate in the city.
After the killing, police blocked off part of the streets and stepped up security at schools and kindergartens. Authorities recommended that parents pick up their children in person.
The motives for the crime have not been officially named. The investigation is being conducted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin and Poland’s special services.