Illia Kyva

Illia Volodymyrovych Kyva (2 June 1977 – 6 December 2023) was a Ukrainian politician who was a member of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) from August 2019 until March 2022, when he fled to Russia. Kyva worked as an official and policeman before entering politics, heading the Poltava chapter of the Right Sector party before serving as the leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine from 2017 to 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in March 2019, then was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in July 2019 as a member of the Opposition Platform — For Life party. In January 2022, Kyva left for Spain and then Russia; he supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in February. On 15 March, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Kyva of his parliamentary mandate, following his comments in support of Russia's invasion and occupation. In Ukraine, he was sentenced for treason. On 6 December 2023, Kyva was shot dead in an attack Ukrainian media attributed to the Security Service of Ukraine.