Illia Volodymyrovych Kyva (2 June 1977 – 6 December 2023) was a Ukrainian politician who was a member of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(the Ukrainian parliament) from August 2019 until March 2022, when he fled to Russia. Kyva worked as an official and policeman before entering politics, heading the

Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

chapter of the

Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

party before serving as the leader of the

Socialist Party of Ukraine The Socialist Party of Ukraine (, abbreviated SPU) was a social democratic and democratic socialist Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine. It was one of the oldest parties in Ukraine and was created by former members of the Sov ...

from 2017 to 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in March 2019, then was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in July 2019 as a member of the

Opposition Platform — For Life The Opposition Platform – For Life (; , OPZZh) was a Russophilia, pro-Russian and Euroscepticism, Eurosceptic Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine banned after the 2022 Russian invasion. The party was the successor of Fo ...

party. In January 2022, Kyva left for Spain and then Russia; he supported the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

which began in February. On 15 March, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Kyva of his parliamentary mandate, following his comments in support of Russia's invasion and occupation. In Ukraine, he was sentenced for treason. On 6 December 2023, Kyva was shot dead in an attack Ukrainian media attributed to the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

Early life and career

Illia Volodymyrovych Kyva was born on 2 June 1977 in

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(now central Ukraine). Kyva studied at the in his native

, specializing in maintenance. He also took courses to become a "pedagogue-psychologist" at the Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University. From 2005 to 2008, Kyva worked at an industrial company to become the chief accountant of this company.Biography of Illia Kyva
, (accessed on 7 December 2023) He graduated with a degree in law at the

Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University () is a self-governing state higher law educational establishment of the IV level of accreditation, a national university, located in Kharkiv, Ukraine, named after Yaroslav the Wise. National Law Univers ...

. In 2010, he worked in the department of roadworks. For about two months in 2011, Kyva was the head of Poltava's

consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesse ...

department. He was charged with corruption by a district tribunal of the Poltava region in December 2013 and was barred from public office for one year.

Politics

2013–2017

Kvya's political career began in 2013, when he unsuccessfully tried to get elected into the

(Ukraine's national parliament) in a by-election of the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October 2012.Parli ...

in electoral district number 223 (

Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv The Shevchenkivskyi District is an urban district of the city of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It was originally established on 4 April 1937, although in 2001 its area was increased following an annexation of the former Radianskyi and St ...

) as a self-nominated candidate.Small biography on Illia Kyva
,

Civil movement "Chesno" Chesno () is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in Ukraine. The organization provi ...

(accessed on 7 December 2023) In 2014, Kyva became a police

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

(''майор міліції'') and was appointed commander of his native town's battalion, "Poltavshchyna". He became the leader of

's Eastern division stretching from Poltava to Donetsk, and was the representative of

Dmytro Yarosh Dmytro Anatoliiovych Yarosh (; born 30 September 1971) is a Ukrainian activist, politician, nationalist and military commander who is the main commander of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. From 2013 to 2015, he led the Right Sector nationalist o ...

's 2014 presidential election campaign. Kyva was then appointed deputy chief of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

' regional department for

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

. At this time he also befriended

Dmytro Korchynsky Dmytro Oleksandrovych Korchynsky (; born 22 January 1964) is a Ukrainian writer, poet, militant, and political activist who is the former leader of far-right Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian People's Self-Defence (UNA-UNSO) organisatio ...

, founder of the

St Mary's battalion The Saint Mary's police company (), later known as Saint Mary's battalion, was a Ukrainian Christian volunteer police unit known for fighting against Russo-Ukrainian War, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. In 2016, the unit ceased to exi ...

which fought in the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

. In February 2015 Kyva led an evacuation of more than a thousand civilians (in particular, 400 children, elderly citizens and disabled people) from

Debaltseve Debaltseve (, ) or Debaltsevo (), is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, currently occupied by Russia as part of the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is situated on the eastern edge of Donetsk Oblast, and borders Luhansk Oblas ...

and neighboring settlements during the

Battle of Debaltseve The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forc ...

of the War in Donbas. In June 2015 Kyva moved to the position of deputy head of the

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

, before from October 2015 to May 2016 heading the ministry's anti-drug crime division. In this position, in 2016, he attracted controversy for endorsing extrajudicial methods of combating drug crime. When the law on the reformed

National Police of Ukraine The National Police of Ukraine (, ; /NPU ), often simply referred to as the (), is the national, and only, police service of Ukraine. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-Euromaidan reforms launched by Ukrainian president Petro Por ...

entered into force, all employees of the ministry were obliged to undergo re-certification, but Kyva did not do this. In April 2016, the head of the National Police at the time,

Khatia Dekanoidze Khatia Dekanoidze (Georgian language, Georgian: ხატია დეკანოიძე, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Хатія Деканоїдзе; born 20 January 1977) is a Georgian politician who served as Ministry of Education, Scie ...

, announced that she would submit documents for Kyva's release. From 2016 to 2017, he was an advisor to

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov (, ; born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician of Armenian descent who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2021. He was the Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration from ...

2019–2023

Kyva was an unsuccessful candidate in the

2019 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2019. As none of the 39 candidates on the ballot received an absolute majority of the initial vote, a runoff was held on 21 April between the top two vote-getters: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a t ...

, receiving a few thousand votes under the banner of the

. He would later make a political u-turn and get elected as a member of the pro-Russian

list (number 34 on the list) in the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, the elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parli ...

. Kyva went on to host his own show on the ZIK TV channel, said to be controlled by oligarch and leader of co-chairman of the Opposition Platform

Viktor Medvedchuk Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk (; born 7 August 1954), also known as Viktor Vladimirovich Medvedchuk (), is a former Ukrainian lawyer, business oligarch, and politician who has lived in exile in Russia since September 2022 after being handed ...

. In December 2021 Kyva on the

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

TV channel justified the 2014 Russian annexation of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and advocated the merger of Ukraine with the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He declared that Ukraine should be part of the

Union State The Union State is a supranational union consisting of Belarus and Russia, with the stated aim of deepening the relationship between the two states through integration in economic and defence policy. Originally, the Union State aimed to crea ...

with Russia. On 23 February 2022, on the eve of Russia's invasion, Kyva claimed that Ukraine had been "soaked by

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

" and needed "liberating" by Russia. Kyva expressed support for the invasion, claiming "the Ukrainian people need liberation" and that "

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

are one people." Furthermore he stated that Ukraine was "enslaved and brought to its knees by the West, imbued with

, and has no future." He blamed the war on Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

and urged him to resign. In his 24 February 2022 televised broadcast announcing the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

claimed the goal of this "

special military operation "Special military operation" (also "special operation", and abbreviated as "SMO" or "SVO", or , ) is the official term used by the Russian government to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is widely considered a euphemism intended to ...

" was the "

demilitarization Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and milita ...

and

de-Nazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

of Ukraine. One month before the invasion, Kyva had left for Spain, before moving to Russia. On 3 March 2022, Kyva was expelled from the party and faction of Opposition Platform — For Life. On 6 March 2022, Prosecutor General

Iryna Venediktova Iryna Valentynivna Venediktova (born 21 September 1978) is a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, lawyer, Doctor of the Science of Law, professor. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Swiss Confederation and the Principalit ...

announced that Kyva was being charged with

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

, as well as infringing on Ukraine's territorial integrity, taking part in Russian war propaganda, and illegal weapons possession. On 15 March 2022, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Kyva of his mandate as a People's Deputy. On 17 April 2022, he wrote about a nuclear strike on Ukraine on his

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

account, stating: "Zelensky, his entourage and Western curators, are most afraid of a Russian preemptive strike, weapons of mass destruction. This is what can put an end to today's confrontation, not only with the Ukrainian authorities, but with the entire West". On 18 April 2022, it was reported that Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations had opened a case of treason against Kyva for involvement in an illegal arrangement with a general of the Russian Armed Forces. On 21 April 2022, in an open letter to Russian president

, Kyva applied for Russian citizenship and political asylum. Based on the analysis of videos published on his Telegram account, Ukrainian investigation platform concluded on 20 June 2022 that Kyva had settled in the cottage town of Agalarov Estate, near the village Pokrovskoye in

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

. On 13 November 2023, Kyva was given a 14-year jail sentence in absentia by the Lychakivskyi District Court of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

for high treason and calling publicly for the occupation of Ukraine.Policeman, drug fighter, presidential candidate, people's deputy, traitor, convict. How Illia Kyva lived and died
(8 December 2023) Kyva was also sanctioned by the United Kingdom that year in relation to his actions during the war. In Russia, Kyva frequently criticised Ukrainian authorities online and on Russian state television talkshows.

Assassination

Kyva was shot dead in a park in the village of Suponevo, to the west of Moscow, on 6 December 2023. Several Ukrainian media outlets, citing unnamed sources, claimed that Kyva was targeted by the

(SBU).

The press representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the

Ukrainian Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine () is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees national defence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Defence. The President of Ukraine is the Supreme Com ...

Andriy Yusov Andriy Volodymyrovych Yusov (; born 1983) is a Ukrainian activist and politician. Since 2022, he has served as the press representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Biography On 17 September 2 ...

told Ukrainian TV "Yes, we can confirm Kyva is no more. This fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine and puppets of Putin's regime." Yusov claimed that Kyva was "one of the biggest scumbags, traitors and collaborators" and said his death was "justice". Yusov did not say who was behind the assassination. The

Office of the President of Ukraine The Office of the President of Ukraine (, ), formerly the ''Administration of the President of Ukraine'' ( ), is a standing advisory body set up by the President of Ukraine pursuant to clause 28, Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The ...

declined online newspaper ''

Meduza ''Meduza'' (Russian: Медуза, named after the Greek goddess Medusa) is a Russian- and English-language independent news website, headquartered in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 2014 by a group of former employees of the then-independent ...

s request for comment on Kyva's death. Since the

, the SBU and military intelligence have claimed a number of successful operations against high-value targets in the

Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine The Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are areas of southern and eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the ongoing invasion. In Ukrainian law, they are defined as the "temporarily occu ...

as well as in Russia itself. Russia has blamed the SBU for the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Darya Dugina Darya Aleksandrovna Dugina (; 15 December 1992 – 20 August 2022), also known under the pen name Daria Platonova (), was a Russian journalist, political scientist, and activist. She was the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, a far-right politic ...

, the daughter of

Aleksandr Dugin Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin (; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian far-right political philosopher. He is the leading theorist of Russian neo-Eurasianism. Born into a military intelligence family, Dugin was an anti-communist dissident during the ...

, and the assassination of military vlogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Several Russia-loyal officials in Russian-occupied Ukraine have been killed since the start of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyva, Illia 1977 births 2023 deaths Deaths by firearm in Russia Politicians from Poltava Socialist Party of Ukraine politicians Ninth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Expelled members of the Verkhovna Rada Recipients of the Order of Danylo Halytsky Treason in Ukraine Ukrainian collaborators with Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Fugitives wanted by Ukraine Civilians killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Ukrainian politicians convicted of crimes Assassinated Ukrainian politicians Assassinations in Russia Politicians assassinated in 2023