"We condemn today's murder of Oles Buzina, and call on Ukrainian authorities to solve this case without delay," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. "We also urge Ukrainian authorities to consider Buzina's journalism as the murder's possible motive and to bring those responsible to justice."
Last month, Buzina stepped down from his post at Segodnya, citing alleged censorship by the outlet's owner who allegedly prohibited him from criticizing President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
In Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the journalist’s assassination signaled the start of a crackdown on political dissidents in Ukraine, something the EU leaders would prefer to ignore.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko denounced the assassination of Oles Buzina and Oleh Kalashnikov, a former political ally of ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych, as a provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country.
Buzina and Kalashnikov were shot dead within a 24-hour time span: the first late on April 15, the second at 2 p.m. on April 16.
A third victim, journalist Serhiy Sukhobok, worked for pro-Ukrainian publications. He was killed on April 13.
