Man arrested over murder of Putin critic in Poland

Robert Kuzovkov was shot dead (Vasily Krestyaninov/SOTA via AP)

Polish authorities have arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a Russian activist critical of President Vladimir Putin.

The suspect is a 36-year-old man who carried a passport belonging to the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, interior minister Marcin Kierwiński said at a news conference in Warsaw.

Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead at close range in broad daylight on Monday near his home in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska, near the border with Belarus.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday that the killing has the hallmarks of a political assassination.

“Everything points to this being a political murder,” Mr Tusk said. “But we must wait for evidence or more concrete indications. Because if that was the case — if it was ordered by Russia — then it is an extremely serious matter internationally. It would constitute state terrorism.”