KIEV, Ukraine, April 16 (UPI) -- A pro-Russian journalist and a pro-Russian former member of parliament have been killed in separate shootings one day apart in Kiev, Ukraine.
Pro-Russian journalist Oles Buzyna, 45, was killed outside of his home by shots fired from inside a car on Thursday. Another Russian supporter, former Ukrainian Minister of Parliament Oleg Kalashnikov, was found at his home on Wednesday -- killed by a gunshot.
Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said he believed both killings were related to the "anti-Maidan" movement in Ukraine where pro-Russian activists attacked protesters in the Maidan Square uprising that removed former pro-Russian President Victor Yanukovych from power.
Buzyna and Kalashnikov were important witnesses in a criminal case, according to Herashchenko.
"Without any doubt the deceased knew a lot about who and in what way financed anti-Maidan, which cost Yanukovich and his camarilla several million," Herashchenko said. "He takes these secrets with him to the grave."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered an investigation into the killings.
"It is evident that these crimes have the same origin," Poroshenko said in a statement. "Their nature and political sense are clear. It is a deliberate provocation that plays in favor of our enemies."
At least eight officials have been killed in the last three months who are linked to Yanukovych's former government. Authorities labeled some of the deaths as suicides, but stated it was possible some were forced to take their lives.
