Kiev’s Security Service Reportedly Kills Member of Ukrainian Team at Talks With Russia

The first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place in Belarus on Monday against the backdrop of Moscow’s ongoing special operation in Ukraine aimed at demilitarising and “de-Nazifying” the country.

Ukrainian lawmaker Alexander Dubinsky has claimed that Denis Kireev, a member of Kiev’s first delegation at the Monday talks with Russia, was killed by the Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU.

Dubinsky wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday that the SBU killed Kireev during his arrest on suspicion of treason.

There has been no official confirmation of the information yet, but the Ukrainian media outlet Strana.ua has published a graphic photo allegedly showing the slain negotiator.

Disclaimer: this photo contains graphic content and may be upsetting to some viewers

“Strana.ua’s sources in law enforcement agencies confirm the murder in Kiev [of] a member of the first Ukrainian delegation at the talks with Russia, Denis Kireev. According to the sources, the murder took place near the Pechersk Court”, the news outlet reported earlier in the day, without elaborating.

Russia-Ukraine Talks

Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first round of talks to try to resolve the Ukraine crisis in the Gomel region in Belarus on 28 February, amid Moscow’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

Head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky told reporters that during the five-hour negotiations, both sides managed to find some points from which “common positions” can be built on.

The second round of the talks was also held in Belarus, with the parties agreeing on the creation of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians, as well as the deliveries of food and medicines. The third round of the parleys is expected “in the coming days”, according to the Ukrainian side.

Russia's Special Op in Ukraine

Moscow launched the special operation on 24 February after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) asked Russia for assistance to defend themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the goal of the operation is to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" Ukraine. Russia's Defence Ministry, in turn, underlined that Russian forces are only targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure with high-precision weapons and that civilians are out of danger.

In the latest development, Russia declared a temporary ceasefire in the Ukrainian town of Volnovakha and Mariupol, one of Ukraine’s largest ports located on the Sea of Azov coast in the country’s east, to help evacuate local civilians. This followed President Putin saying earlier this week that the special operation is going as planned, with all the tasks being implemented "successfully".