ukraine journalist
Oles Buzina, one of the two Ukrainian journalists who were recently killed, is shown at the office of Sevodnya daily newspaper in Kiev in this Oct. 12, 2012, photo. He and Sergey Sukhobok were killed in Kiev. Reuters

Two pro-Russian journalists from Ukraine were shot dead this week in their native country, with at least one of the deaths happening Thursday. Oles Buzina, a news editor, was killed Thursday afternoon. Sergey Sukhobok, who was an oppositionist known for his pro-Russian views, was also killed, though it is unclear exactly when he died because of conflicting reports. Both were prominent figures in the country’s journalism scene.

Buzina, 45, who in addition to his journalism was renowned for his work as an author and a TV presenter, was killed while jogging on a street near his Kiev home Thursday afternoon, local time. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry adviser Anton Geraschenko characterized it as murder, reported the Segodnya newspaper in Ukraine. Geraschenko reportedly wrote a Facebook post indicating that Buzina was killed after being shot from a blue sedan with foreign license plates.

The Interior Ministry later reported that two masked men were responsible for the killing and that an investigation was being led by Interior Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Pascal. Buzina, who would frequently publish pro-Russia opinion pieces, and resigned last month as editor-in-chief of the Segodnya over censorship.

Sukhobok, who suffered a similar fate in Kiev, was either killed Monday or hours earlier than Buzina Thursday. He was known for his outspoken, oppositionist views that sympathized with Russia, according to local publication Novorussia. Details are scarce on how he was killed, and police had not issued a comment about his death. Sukhobok, 50, founded Ukrainian news websites ProUA and Okbom. His funeral is scheduled for Friday and in Poltava where his family lives, according to an obituary published in Okbom, which said he was killed Monday. However, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty reported Sukhobok was killed Thursday.

The two deaths come less than two months after pro-Russian Ukrainian Boris Nemtsov was shot and killed in Moscow. Many suspected Russian President Vladimir Putin had a hand in Nemtsov’s death. Putin said Thursday that Nemtsov’s death was “tragic and shameful,” according to the Associated Press.

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