Outspoken Journalist Pavel Sheremet Killed in Car Bombing in Kiev

Kiev: On Wednesday, Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet working in Ukraine was killed after an explosive device placed under the car he was driving detonated in central Kiev, Ukraine.

Sheremet, 44, who reported for the news website Ukrainska Pravda and previously for Russian state television before moving to Ukraine, was on his way to the independent radio station Radio Vesti, where he hosted a morning show, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Security footage from the scene shows Sheremet’s car being engulfed in fumes and flames, as passersby rush to the charred vehicle looking for survivors. Sheremet was the only person in the car, which belonged to his partner, Ukrainska Pravda founding editor Olena Prytula. At a meeting with the President and security officials on Wednesday, National Police Chief Khatia Dekanoidze said the explosive device was equivalent to 400-600 grams of TNT.

His killing has raised speculations that he was targeted because of his work. Sheremet is the highest-profile journalist killed in the country in 16 years.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Sheremet’s killing “a terrible crime” and ordered a swift investigation. Poroshenko said he had asked international partners, including FBI and EU experts, for help in the investigation.

 “He was a star and a luminary to us. He was a journalist who deeply understood the social and political canvas of modern times,” his colleges said in a tribute on the Ukraisnka Pravda website. “He contributed an amazing spirit and essence to our office.”

A native Belarusian, Sheremet has been an outspoken critic of Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian leaders. Sheremet was jailed in Belarus in 1997 for his reporting critical of President Alexander Lukashenko's government, and eventually stripped of his citizenship. He worked for Russian state television ORT before moving to Ukraine and joining Ukrainska Pravda, whose founder, Georgy Gongadze, was abducted and killed in 2000.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry called Sheremet’s killing “cynical” and “cruel”, denouncing speculations that the perpetrators may have links to Russia. “We are shocked by the cynical murder of Russian citizen Pavel Sheremet in central Kiev,” said the statement. "He was a known and respected journalist in Russia and a top professional.” “As it often happens in today’s Ukraine, some Russophobic people immediately found a 'Russian trace' in this cruel murder,” the statement reads. “We expect an unbiased and meticulous investigation of these crimes and punishment for all their culprits.”

Shermet was a recipient of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award in 1998 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Prize for Journalism and Democracy in 2001.