The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday asked the Ukrainian authorities to "make every effort" to promptly investigate the murder of Russian journalist Arkadiy Babchenko in Kiev.

"The level of physical violence and murders of media employees in Ukraine is steadily growing, and their investigations do not lead to the punishment of criminals," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of Babchenko.

Earlier on the day, Ukrainian lawmaker Anton Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook that Babchenko, who was working for the Ukrainian TV channel ATR, was shot in the back on the stairwell of his house and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

Kiev police chief Andriy Kryschenko told local media that Babchenko's professional activities as a journalist would be examined in the investigation to seek the motive of the murderer.

Babchenko, 41, had worked as a war correspondent in Moskovsky Komsomolets and several other Moscow-based media.

He moved from Moscow to Prague, capital of Czech Republic, in February 2017, citing unspecified threats. In August 2017, Babchenko moved to Kiev.

Xinhua