WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is condemning the killing of prominent Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.

Obama says in a statement that Nemtsov was brutally murdered. He’s calling on Russia’s government to perform a “prompt, impartial and transparent” investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Nemtsov is a former deputy prime minister who later became a prominent opposition leader and a sharp critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 55-year-old was shot and killed in Moscow just outside of the Kremlin.

Obama is calling Nemtsov a “tireless advocate” for Russia and for the rights of Russian citizens. He’s praising Nemtsov for fighting corruption.

Obama and Nemtsov met in Moscow in 2009.

The killing comes as the US and Russia are at odds over Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine.

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Prominent Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov shot dead