Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov was shot in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on June 18 by an unknown assailant.
The activist's wife, Natalya Sadyqova, said on Facebook that "the attempted murder of her husband" took place near his house in Kyiv.
She did not give any further details. She was with her husband but was unharmed in the attack.
Ukraine's National Police said an unknown person shot a man in a parked vehicle and fled the scene, but gave no further details.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said it had started investigating the "attempted murder of a journalist, a citizen of Kazakhstan," adding that the victim was hospitalized in "serious condition." It did not name Sadyqov.
Kazakhstan-based human rights defender Inga Imanbai wrote on Facebook that she spoke to Sadyqova, who told her that her husband was currently in intensive care following surgery.
Sadyqova told journalists later in Kyiv that she was confident that the attack was linked to the work she and her husband have done as journalists.
"I want everyone to understand one thing. The attack is directly related to our journalistic activities," Sadyqova said, adding that earlier in the day she and her husband posted new material on their Base channel on YouTube in which they criticized Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev for his pro-Russian policies.
Sadyqov used to lead a branch of the opposition Azat Social Democratic Party in his native Aqtobe region in Kazakhstan's northwest until 2010.
He later headed a group that was a major force to create a union defending the rights of Kazakh workers at the Chinese-owned CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil company.
In 2014, Kazakh authorities launched a case against Sadyqova, who worked as a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper at the time, accusing her of slander.
The couple then fled Kazakhstan and have resided in Kyiv since. They obtained political asylum in Ukraine. In 2016, the Kazakh authorities shut down Respublika.
While in Ukraine, the couple launched the Base YouTube channel in Kazakh and Russian, which has frequently examined corruption in Kazakhstan.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Sadyqovs' YouTube channel carried materials criticizing Moscow's aggression and accusing the Kazakh government of pro-Russian policies.
In October 2023, Kazakhstan added Sadyqov and his wife to its wanted list, accusing them of "inciting hatred." Sadyqov told RFE/RL at the time that the charge was politically motivated.
