Police classify murder of Odesa activist Hanul as contract killing

The police have classified the murder of Odesa activist Demyan Hanul as a contract killing.

The National Police announced this on the Telegram channel, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

"The police have initiated criminal proceedings into the murder of an Odesa public figure. The incident has been classified as a premeditated murder committed to order," the report says.

The crime was committed on Friday morning in the center of Odesa. An unknown person shot a 31-year-old public figure and fled, the victim died on the spot.

It is noted that investigators, criminalists, and operatives continue to work at the scene, and measures are being taken to detain the perpetrator.

Minister of Interior Affairs Ihor Klymenko reported on his Telegram channel that an investigative and operational group and forensic experts from the Central Office of the National Police, headed by the head of the National Police Ivan Vyhivskyi, had left for Odesa to investigate the high-profile murder.

Klymenko also said that there were specific clues in the case of the activist's murder. At the same time, he noted that the information that the shooter was dressed in a military uniform was not true.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on the morning of March 14, pro-Ukrainian activist and volunteer Demyan Hanul was shot dead in the center of Odesa.