Four bullets in the back: Putin's main critic assassinated

Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the war in Ukraine, was killed late Friday night in the middle of Moscow, in the immediate vicinity of the Kremlin, agencies report.

Putin expressed regret immediately after the brutal murder, while the United States demanded an urgent investigation into the crime. Nemtsov is by far the most prominent opposition politician killed in Russia during President Putin's 15-year rule.

According to a statement from the Russian government, Nemtsov was shot four times.

- Boris Nemtsov was shot four times in the center of Moscow on Vasilievsky Spusk. Investigators are at the scene - the Tass agency announced, relaying police information.