Death of Ukrainian Negotiation Delegation Member "Under Mysterious Circumstances"

One member of the Ukrainian delegation who participated in the first round of negotiations with Russia has been killed, according to Russian media sources citing Ukrainian reports. The state network "Russia Today" stated that Ukrainian MP and journalist Denys Kireev was shot dead in Kyiv on Saturday by "agents of the Ukrainian Security Service" during an attempted arrest. Kireev, who had a background in banking, was seen sitting at the far right of the negotiation table alongside other Ukrainian officials during the first round of talks held on Monday at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Despite his appearance in photos, Kireev's name was not included in the list of delegation members published by Kyiv, leaving his status unclear. In February, a Ukrainian television report stated that Kireev had been under investigation for alleged ties to Russian intelligence since at least 2020. The report noted that "the investigation into the MP was halted due to his strong connections with officials in the Ukrainian Security Service." The first two rounds of negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have not yielded any progress, with a third round expected to take place on Monday.