Botched Assassination in Kyiv

Would-be killers almost self-immolate

Novopecherski Lipky has got to be one of the worst places in Kyiv, maybe in the whole of Europe, to assassinate your rival. The prestigious residential business-class complex located in the capital’s Pechersk district is full of security guards and CCTV cameras. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s son attends an elementary school located within the tightly guarded complex, which is owned by Ukrainian billionaire Vasyl Khmelnytsky.

Which brings us to the question of what exactly the gang of Montenegrin killers was thinking when they tracked down and shot at their target, reportedly a rival drug cartel boss, during the evening of May 26.

Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko posted a video of the actual hit here. The target was heavyset jogger wearing a face mask.

Two of the would-be killers were caught on camera after the assassination attempt. They don’t appear to be experienced assassins. Why such a small car?

Ukraine’s National Police Chief said the men arrived in early May from the Balkans, purchased, vehicles, automatic firearms and organized surveillance of their target and his family. On May 26 at around 18:30, two men fired five shots at their victim, wounding him, before driving their go-cart a couple of hundred of meters and setting it and themselves ablaze. Police said the shooters were waiting for their accomplices and panicked after the failed to show up.

Ukraine’s Strategic Investigations Department said on Facebook on Wednesday it arrested the gang in Odesa. Probable motive: eliminating a rival in a drug cartel network.