Ukrainian blogger living in Spain says he was targeted in assassination attempt
Ukrainian blogger Anatoliy Shariy, who lives in Spain, said there was an attempt on his life early on Wednesday.
“Just now, they tried to kill me and my wife. They tried to shoot the car with an automatic rifle fitted with a silencer. One guy, another one was apparently waiting by because he was watching when I got there,” Shariy said in a video message.
Shariy’s wife added that the shots were fired at 9:20 a.m. local time as they were approaching their home.
According to Shariy, less than a week ago he gave the Spanish police information about the planned assassination.
“There was an audio recording, basically a hit for 100,000 euros ($108,820), and the name and surname of a specific person who was in touch with people connected to those placing the hit, and the name of a person, as far as I can understand, in Barcelona, who apparently has something to do with all of this,” Shariy said in a voice message.
He added that police did not set up roadblocks to catch the perpetrators or interview witnesses. Shariy said he called the police right after the assassination attempt. According to him, his security guards questioned eyewitnesses and are currently searching for shell casings and other evidence.
Shariy said he believes that the Ukrainian authorities are behind the attempt on his life, asserting that “all options other than Zelensky have been ruled out.”
The Spanish Civil Guard told Russian state media that they have no information on the incident. The Spanish National Police and local law enforcement agencies in Catalonia, where Shariy is believed to live, told TASS that they are not aware of what happened.
Anatoliy Shariy left Ukraine in 2012, saying that law enforcement agencies were persecuting him for material he produced that was critical of the police.
