You're reading: Chairman of United Congress of Azeris of Ukraine wounded in Kyiv

Rovshan Tagiyev, businessman, chairman of the United Congress of Azeris of Ukraine, and president of the Assembly of Nationalities of Ukraine, sustained a gunshot wound in Kyiv on May 14. His condition is now stable, he has undergone surgery and has now been transferred to a private clinic in Kyiv, the Azeri Embassy in Kyiv told Interfax on May 15.

“That [the wounding of Tagiyev] took place in the Podilsky district at around 1700 yesterday. After being attacked, he was rushed to hospital,” Asim Osmanov, the embassy’s first secretary for consular affairs, told Interfax.

Osmanov said Tagiyev is now stable and has been transferred to the private clinic Boris.

“He is there now. I had a talk with him this morning. He is alright, the surgery was successful,” the diplomat said.

The diplomat also said Ukrainian law enforcement agencies “will be working on this issue” and will inform the embassy.

In the meantime, Tagiyev assumed in a commentary given to the Azeri agency ARA that the attack against him could be connected to his public and political activities. “I am the head of the Congress of Azeris and the Assembly of Nationalities. Our statement recently released in Donetsk drew a broad public response. Probably that’s why my activities in the Assembly of Nationalities concern some forces in the light of the recent events in Ukraine,” he said.

Tagiyev also said he doubts that the attack could be connected to his business activities. “I don’t have any conflicts of interests with anyone. On the contrary, I have many friends. I am alone in the hotel sector and in the use of the land sites I have purchased,” he said.

According to earlier reports, an unknown individual fired a shot at a 37-year-old man in Kyiv’s Sahaidachny Street on May 14, wounding him in the arm. The shots were fired from a car that was passing by. The shooter fired at least two shots, of which one hit the victim’s arm and the other hit the door of a pharmacy.

According to the police, the victim was hospitalized and being operated on.