MP Davydenko find dead in office with single gunshot wound to head

Valeriy Davydenko, a 47-year-old MP and former deputy
agrarian minister, was found dead in his office on May 23 with a gunshot wound
to his head, local media reported, citing sources in law enforcement. His close
associates, including members of his fellow Trust group of MPs, insisted that
he was murdered. Civil Monitoring (Suspilniy Kontrol), a Telegram channel, said
the photograph of the MP indicated the killer wanted to make the death look like
a suicide, but the position of his arm – between his legs – and the Glock gun –
underneath his seated body – indicated otherwise.

Davydenko was elected to parliament to represent a
single-mandate district of his native Chernihiv region. In December, he joined
the Trust group of MPs that was reported by the ukr.lb.ua news site to be loyal
to billionaire Rinat Akhmetov and mega-millionaire Andrii Verevskyi, the board
chairman of Kernel Holding. In the prior parliamentary convocation, Davydenko
represented the same district and belonged to the Poroshenko Bloc faction. He
served as deputy agrarian minister between May 2013 and March 2014.

Zenon Zawada: It’s not
clear at this moment what would be the motive if Davydenko was murdered.
However, among those standing to gain the most is Radical Party Head Oleh
Liashko, who would have strong chances of returning to parliament in the
elections for Davydenko’s vacated single-mandate seat. An aggressive politician who thrives on scandal,
Liashko is very popular in his native Chernihiv region and widely acknowledged
to have close ties to billionaire Akhmetov. His party didn’t achieve the 5%
threshold in last year’s elections. Liashko hasn’t been prosecuted for his
November assault on MP Andriy Gerus, the head of the parliamentary energy
committee.

The last MP suspected to have been murdered was Yevhen
Kushnaryov in 2007. He was deputy faction head of the defunct Party of Regions
at the time and widely seen as a rival to former President Yanyukovych in
leading Ukraine’s Russian-oriented forces. His official cause of death was a
hunting accident.

This incident will serve as a talking point for
those critical of President Zelensky for his weak leadership and lack of
commitment to implementing rule of law and fighting corruption. We are doubtful
anyone will be prosecuted for Davydenko’s alleged murder.