Putin Critic Dies 13 Days After Gunmen Shoot Him In Kyiv

A journalist who criticised the Kazakh regime for being pro-Putin has died 13 days after assassins in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv gunned him down.

Kazakh opposition activist Aidos Sadykov was shot but survived in the courtyard of his home in the city on 18th June.

Now his wife Natalia Sadykova has announced on Facebook that he died in hospital on 1st July.

She has blamed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev, 71, for his death.

Sadykov was a journalist and blogger working for the BASE news channel and a constant thorn in the side of his homeland’s pro-Russian regime.

His wife, also a journalist, said: “Aidos gave his life for Kazakhstan, he accepted a martyr’s death at the hands of killers.

“Aidos fought for his life in intensive care for thirteen days, but a miracle did not happen. His death is on Tokayev’s conscience.”

In Ukraine, Aidos Sadykov became known as a journalist and head of the BASE media resource, which shines a light on Tokayev’s pro-Kremlin stance.

Ukrainian prosecutors say two gunmen opened fire as Sadykov and his wife were sitting in their car outside their home.

She was not injured in the attack.

The assassins have been named as Kazakh nationals Altay Zhakanbayev and Meiram Karatayev.

The pair fled to Moldova but on 22nd June, Kazakh’s Prosecutor General announced that Zhakanbayev had turned himself in to local police.

Ukrainian justice officials have declared the pair to be under arrest in absentia and have put their names on the international wanted list.

But Kazakh officials have said they will not extradite Zhakanbayev to Ukraine to face trial.

Natalya Sadykova has blamed the Kazakh government for her husband’s death.

She told Ukrainian media: “The main beneficiary is the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.”

Kazakh officials say her accusations are “provocations and insinuations that do not correspond to reality.”

Kazakhstan’s President Tokayev has claimed that he is ready to work with Kyiv and with Interpol.

Aidos Sadykov was known for his criticism of Tokayev, who he accused of having a pro-Russia position, saying the president’s entourage was full of “Kremlin agents”.