Ukraine releases image of 'traitor MP's body' and video 'showing assassin lying in wait' before lawmaker was shot dead in Moscow - as Kyiv issues warning to 'criminals who have gone over to the enemy'

Ukrainian intelligence today revealed chilling images from the scene of the assassination of Ilya Kyva, a 'traitor' and former Kyiv MP turned Putin puppet. 

Kyva, 46, was gunned down last week as he went for a walk in a supposedly safe location at a country club near Moscow.

Images from the scene show his body lying in the snow - and the weapons supposedly used to 'liquidate' him were discovered hanging on a tree nearby. Video was also released apparently showing the assassin lying in wait in the snow and watching passers-by.

The SBU secret service made clear the images and footage were deliberately released as a warning to other Ukrainians collaborating with Vladimir Putin's invading forces.

'This is a signal to all traitors and war criminals who have gone over to the enemy's side,' a Ukrainian source told media. 

'Remember, Russia will not protect you... Death is the only prospect that awaits the enemies of Ukraine.'

This followed a statement by SBU spokesman Andriy Yusov who told Ukrainian TV: 'We can confirm Kyva is no more. This fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine and puppets of Putin's regime.'

It is not yet clear if Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky knew of the hit, or indeed ordered it. But the release of the images and video of the murder scene comes as Zelensky met with SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk to discuss efforts to crack down on those who collaborate with Russia, Ukrinform reported. 

A Kremlin propagandist, who appeared on obedient state TV shows, Kyva had alleged Zelensky was an MI6 stooge and cocaine addict.

He was a former policeman and government official, having led the Socialist party in the Ukrainian parliament from 2017-19.

In 2019 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Ukrainian presidency, but then turned to Russia. He asked Putin for political asylum and a Russian passport.

The images of the crime scene were snapped in the closely guarded grounds of Velich Country Club, seen as a safe house for the slain Ukrainian.

The club is just 12 miles from Putin's main official residence, Novo-Ogarevo, outside Moscow, and is less than 30 miles from the Kremlin.

Kyva had reportedly been living at the club - which had hotel facilities and 'good security' - with a girlfriend.

A video, taken at the scene by the alleged killer shortly before the shooting, shows how the assassin was waiting amid the snow and trees, waiting for a man to walk by. 

'This is what my office looks like,' he said, his voice garbled to protect his identity. 

'There's a red carpet that runs around, a chair, a road to the bus,' he joked, showing his surroundings, before settling the camera on a figure walking through the snowdrift a few dozen feet away. It is unclear whether that figure was Kyva.

Russia's Investigative Committee is now probing the killing.

Kyva was earlier this year handed a 14-year jail sentence for high treason in a trial conducted in absentia as Kyva had already fled to live in Russia. 

Hours before he died, Kyva had in his final social media post predicted that a defeated Volodymyr Zelensky would be forced to flee to Britain.

'Zelensky's only option is to flee to England, but even from there he is extradited when it is favourable to the Crown or dies when it is necessary for the Kremlin,' he said.

Speaking on the killing, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: 'Regardless of the incident with Kyva, it is very important for everyone who actively cooperates with the Russian occupation administrations in one way or another to understand that their risks are extreme, even if they are located on Russian territory.'

'Of course, the activity and capabilities of the Ukrainian special services have grown enormously over the past two years.

'Risks for such people will be preserved or even multiplied.'

Yusov added: '[Kyva] was one of the biggest and most disgusting scum, a traitor and collaborator.

'Unfortunately, there are still plenty in Russia.'

But Kyva wasn't the only defector slain last week.

Oleg Popov, branded a war criminal by Kyiv, was killed in a car bombing in occupied Luhansk.

Footage showed Popov's burning car after an explosion near the city stadium. The 51-year-old had been appointed 'Deputy of the People's Council of the Luhansk People's Republic' by Russian occupying forces.

The Kyiv Post reported that the 'special operation' was organised by the Security Service of Ukraine, later confirmed by a secret service source speaking to Pravda.

A source told the Post that Popov was a 'quite legitimate target, because before becoming a deputy he managed many Russian volunteer battalions, led illegal armed formations, and killed Ukrainians.'

'Undermining the leader is the best advertisement for the effectiveness of this committee's work,' the source said. 

Popv's death came just weeks after another lawmaker in the Luhansk region, Mikhail Filiponenko, was killed in a similar attack claimed by Kyiv. 

Various other assassinations carried out in Russia or in occupied Ukraine suggest Kyiv continues to operate a network of clandestine operatives tasked with 'counteracting collaborators and protecting Ukrainians from those who deliberately incite hatred within our country', as Zelensky said in his meeting with SBU chief Maliuk.

Oleksiy Kovalyov, 33, was a senior official in charge of agriculture in the Moscow-appointed military-civil administration in Kherson.

He was shot dead at close range with a shotgun at his residence in the city of Hola Prystan, while his wife, 38, was also stabbed and her throat slit in the attack before she died in hospital, local media reported. 

But perhaps the most famous assassination was that of Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin and a pro-Russian journalist and commentator in her own right.

The 29-year-old was killed last August when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow, ripping the vehicle apart, authorities said.

Both she and her father, who is a philosopher, writer and political theorist, ardently supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine.