Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed in a car explosion in Kyiv on the morning of July 20, reported Ukrainska Pravda. Sheremet worked in Ukrainska Pravda, a popular online news outlet.
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4: 30 p.m. – A surveillance camera video shows the moment of explosion.
3:20 p.m. – People have been coming to MediaHub, an event space set by Ukrainska Pravda, to leave their condolences in the memorial book.
3 p.m. – During the meeting of the law enforcement agencies heads with President Petro Poroshenko, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said that the investigators are probing two versions – an assassination and a terrorist attack with an intent of destabilization the political situation in Ukraine.
“Now we are getting so much information about the future threats in Kyiv. The incident with Sheremet can be only a part of something bigger and more horrible,” said Lutsenko.
2:40 p.m. – President Petro Poroshenko said that FBI will get involved in the investigation of Sheremet’s murder. He said it in a phone conversation with Ukrainska Pravda’s chief editor Sevgil Musayeva-Borovik. Poroshenko said it was his request that FBI participates to guarantee the transparent investigation.
2:16 p.m. – The Head of the National Police Khatia Dekanoidze said at the meeting of the law enforcement agencies with the President Petro Poroshenko that 400-600 grams of trotyl were used for the explosive device that killed Sheremet.
“All the best investigators of Kyiv and the central department of the National Police are involved in the case. The assassination of the prominent journalist is now the number one priority for us, it’s a matter of honor for us,” said Dekanoidze.
1:40 p.m – Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s lawmaker Svitlana Zalishchuk called Sheremet’s assassination “an attack on every Ukrainian and a pronouncement of war against the peace we used to believe exists outside the war zone in Donbas.”
“This is carnage against Ukrainska Pravda investigations that indeed had replaced the prosecutor’s office investigations in the last 10 years,” Zalishchuk said on Facebook.
1:35 p.m. – President Petro Poroshenko ordered to provide bodyguards to Olena Prytula, the wife of Pavlo Sheremet and the founding editor of Ukrainska Pravda.
1:30 p.m. – Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition politician and permanent critic of Vladimir Putin: “Governments always knew that he (Sheremet) understood them well and always hated him for that. Sheremet faced jail in Belarus, he was persecuted in Russia, and he was being followed in Ukraine.”
12:47 p.m. – U.S. Embassy in Kyiv about Sheremet: “We respect him as a fearless practitioner and supporter of freedom of speech, the Revolution of Dignity, and a brighter future for Ukraine. The Embassy also welcomes the statements by the police and prosecutor general that the circumstances surrounding his murder will be fully investigated and any perpetrators brought to justice.”
12:42 p.m. – Vitaly Sych, chief editor of Novoe Vremya magazine, in his op-ed for Novoe Vremya: “I do not really believe in the Russian trace, I think it’s influential people in Ukraine, whose interests Ukrainska Pravda crossed. The murder of Pavel Sheremet is an attempt to bring back the self-censorship among journalists. It’s a warning to anyone who dares to investigate the blatant looting of money and huge financial frauds – everything that does not let Ukraine escape the feudal system.”
“The demonstrative execution of Sheremet in the center of Kyiv – is the most terrible political murder of the journalist since Georgiy Gongadze’s death in 2000.”
12:13 p.m. – The adviser to the Ministry of Interior Zoryan
Shkiryak
told journalists at the scene that the preliminary investigation is considering possible causes of the murder such as his professional
activity, hostile relations as well as a “Russian trace”.
12:09 p.m. – Governor of Odesa, Mikheil Saakashvili, wrote on Facebook: “In Kyiv, they blew up my friend. In 2009, he wrote very critical, in my opinion absolutely unjust accusations, about me in his book. After Maidan, he came up to me in the lobby of a hotel in Kyiv and asked for an interview. I do not know why, but I decided to give it a chance. The interview was lengthy and very professional, we gradually became friends. Pavel found little people, such as a winemaker with a few hectares of vineyards of Shabo – Lacar, or a small company in Koblevo, which the tax authorities were going after and protected them as a matter of honor, not only for himself but also for all of us. After that, and the book which I didn’t like, he turned into my guardian angel, pushing back on numerous attacks by journalists on me and my team. He was deeply decent and talented man. His murder by terrorists today strengthens me sensations that they , across the country, are preparing something very dangerous, and that the political class blindly leading us to the abyss. We must stop them by our shouts, it is a pity that there is one less powerful voice in Ukraine. I was with Pavel Sheremet a few days ago in Lviv.”
11:28 a.m. – Kristina Berdynskykh, the journalist at Novoye Vremya, writes in an op-ed: “Ukrainian investigators cannot be relied upon.” Berdynskykh
was personally in February by text message, saying that she should be careful
if she did not want to become the next Gongadze.
The text message was referring to critical journalist Georgiy
Gongadze who was kidnapped and killed on September 16, 2000. Secret recordings
from then President Leonid Kuchma’s office were later released where Kuchma can
be heard speaking to former Interior Minister, Yuriy Kravchenko. On the recording
Kuchma orders Kravchenko to drive Gongadze out to the Chechnya.
Gongadze was the founder of Ukrainska Pravda with Olena Prytula,
Sheremet’s partner and Ukrainska Pravda founder.
The murders are eerily similar. Just like Gongadze in 2000, Sheremet
was killed after leaving Pretula’s apartment.
Investigators work near the burnt frame
of a car belonged to the Ukrainska Pravda founding editor Olena Prytula
on July 20 in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Petrov)
10:51 a.m. – Taras Berezovets, Ukrainian political expert, writes on Facebook: “Pavel Sheremet’s assassination is an attempt to scare the society. The authors of this crime had a cynical intention to spread panic and distrust. There is a feeling that the scariest findings are ahead. They blown up Sheremet, now they will try to blow up the whole country from inside. No comments and versions for now. Today is the mourning day.”
10:06 a.m. – Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine, wrote on Facebook: “The day started with the horrible news. Pavel Sheremet, famous Ukrainian journalist died. My condolence to all his relatives and fans of is journalistic talent. I’ve already ordered the law enforcement agencies to launch the fast and effective investigation.”
09:53 a.m. – Yuriy Stets, Information Policy Minister, wrote on Facebook “July 20. The journalist and blogger Pavel Sheremet died from a blast in the car in the center of Kyiv. It is hard to believe… At the government meeting we are initiating the creation of the special acting group of the law enforcement officers to conduct the investigation as fast and as effective as in possible. It is very important for the state and for everyone of us to prove that the freedom of speech and the professional journalist’s work – is the most valuable things in these times of challenges.”
Investigators work near the burnt frame
of a car belonged to the Ukrainska Pravda founding editor Olena Prytula
on July 20 in Kyiv. (Volodymyr Petrov)
09:41 a.m. – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko calls on Ukrainian law enforcement to quickly investigate the case, writing on Facebook that “the guilty must be punished.”
09:36 a.m. – Ukraine’s General Prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, writes on Facebook that there are traces of explosives at the scene and calls it murder.
09:30 a.m. – Anton Gerashchenko wrote on his Facebook page: “Pavel Sheremet was killed in an explosion of bomb set under the bottom of the car. That most likely was controlled remotely. That was cynical and well-planned murder. The investigation will examine all possible versions of the murder of Pavel Sheremet. The first one is related to his journalistic activities. We are not excluding the Russian trace. I express my condolences to the family and friends of Pavel Sheremet. The killers must be found and punished!”
08:50-09:00 a.m. – Head of the Ukrainian National Police, Khatia Dekanoidze, arrives at the scene and tells journalists that she knew Sheremet personally and to investigate the case is: “a matter of honor.”
08:19 a.m. – The news site where Sheremet works, Ukrainska Pravda, reports the explosion.
Chief of Ukrainian National Police Khatia Dekanoidze stands at the spot of explosion. (Volodymyr Petrov)
07:50 a.m. – Fire brigade arrives to put out the fire.
07:45-07:50 a.m. – A waiter from the restaurant Device Club, Oleksandr Rotan, hears the explosion and runs across the street. With the help of bystanders, Rotan, begins to drag Sheremet from the car.
Another witness Petro, who was also standing on the corner opposite MacDonalds, told Kyiv Post that someone opened the door: “I saw that he was injured and his legs were not quite right. Then they started to pour water and he started to burn. They dragged him out the car. He was in a lot of pain.”
Petro, who declined to give his last name, and his friend called the ambulance.
“He could barely breathe and was gasping for breath,” Viter said. When asked if he was alive after being pulled from the car, Viter replied: “If you can call that alive.”
When the ambulance picked up Sheremet off the pavement, the bystanders started to back away, said Petro, because the car was burning so much that people were scared.
A car part of exploded car lies on a street. (Volodymyr Petrov)
07:42 a.m. – Taxi driver and eye witness Anatoliy Viter, who is stood opposite MacDonalds drinking a coffee, rings the police on 102. At that point the car was engulfed in a cloud of smoke.
Viter said that the explosion launched bits of the car into the air, and forced the bumper to fly across the street.
07:40 a.m. – Around 7:40 Sheremet’s car exploded as he stopped to let a car pass on the corner of Ivan Franko and Bohdan Khmelnytskiy streets in Kyiv city center. The car belonged to Olena Prytula, a founding editor of Ukrainska Pravda who lives not far from the scene.
A person holds a table in front of exploded car where journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed. (Volodymyr Petrov)
