The authorities of Ukraine disclosed the name of the murderer of the former Russian State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov: the crime, according to investigators, was committed by a native of Sevastopol, Pavel Parshov. According to Kiev, in 2015-2016 he served in the Ukrainian National Guard, while at that time he was recruited by the special services of the Russian Federation. President Petro Poroshenko is sure: we are talking about a plan to destabilize the situation in Ukraine, part of which was also a fire in a military warehouse in the Kharkov region. The Kremlin called these accusations "absurd", and the former comrades-in-arms of Mr. Voronenkov in the Communist Party called for an independent international investigation of what happened: Kiev, in their opinion, will not establish the true initiators of the murder of the ex-deputy.

The topic of investigation of the death of Denis Voronenkov, was raised by President Poroshenko during a visit to the training base of the center for special operations "Alpha" in the Kiev region. According to him, the investigation of the murder by law enforcement bodies of Ukraine is a matter of honor. In the same context, the head of the state mentioned the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet in July 2016 and the fire at the ammunition depot in Balakley in the Kharkov region, which began on the night of Thursday.

According to Petro Poroshenko, the murder of the former State Duma deputy and the main witness in the case against former President Viktor Yanukovych happened on the same day as "the sabotage in the Kharkov region". On the part of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the same thought was expressed yesterday by the adviser to the head of the department, Yuri Tandit.

Recall that on the night of March 23 in the city of Balakleya, Kharkov region, on the territory of Ukraine's largest military depot, a fire unexpectedly began, which resulted in detonating ammunition. Authorities evacuated 29 thousand people from nearby settlements. The final conclusions about the reasons for the incident have not yet been made, criminal cases have been initiated immediately under two articles: "negligence" and "sabotage."

Petro Poroshenko, however, is sure: we are talking about the implementation of a plan to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and "intensify anti-Ukrainian activities of Russian special services." In this regard, the president yesterday announced the need to strengthen counterintelligence activities in the country. And the adviser of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Anton Gerashchenko told about one more measure: according to him, the verification criteria for admission to the Armed Forces, National Guard and other law enforcement agencies will be tightened.

About the National Guard, Mr. Gerashchenko said casually. As he told on his Facebook page, Denis Voronenkov's murder was committed by Ukrainian citizen Pavel Parshov, who, as an "agent of Russian special services," served in one of the units of the National Guard. According to Mr. Gerashchenko, the future killer was born in Sevastopol, worked for a long time as a private entrepreneur, but in 2011 was declared wanted for economic crimes. A few years later he changed his occupation and allegedly passed a special training course for saboteurs in Russia, after which he "successfully fulfilled the task of Russian special services", having penetrated into the National Guard. "He resigned in August 2016. Then he waited for the order to act from Moscow, on Wednesday he received it, and on Thursday performed, carrying Denis Voronenkov with him to the grave," - said Anton Gerashchenko. The same version was confirmed by another member of the Rada, former member of the anti-terrorist operation in the Donbass, Yuri Bereza: he called Pavel Parshov "a well-conspiratorial Russian agent." The killer, we recall, did not have time to testify: on Thursday evening he died in the hospital from the injuries received in the shoot-out.

Although Ukrainian security officials and politicians do not doubt that the murderer acted in the interests of the Russian special services, the investigation will have to consider other versions (in particular, criminal, not political, background of the crime). At the same time, Moscow already expresses doubts that the investigation of the case will be objective. "These are absolutely absurd accusations, and we hope that they do not mean refusal to conduct a serious investigation or serious investigative actions," said Dmitry Peskov, presidential spokesman, commenting on rumors about Pavel Parshov's ties with Russian special services.

Russian parliamentarians were even more categorical. "These statements are some sort of agony," Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma, commented the accusations sounding from Kiev yesterday. "All statements were made instantly; it's an attempt, on the one hand, to lay the blame on someone. On the other hand, there's a feeling that it is possible some kind of dramatization." And the Communist Party, of whic Denis Voronenkov had been previously a member, was certain: the Russian and international experts should be involved in the investigation. "Otherwise, there's a risk of being politically engaged," communist deputy Alexey Kurinny explained yesterday. Kiev, however, shows no readiness for such a step.