Natalia Sadykova, the widow of the late Qazaq journalist Aydos Sadykov, who was assassinated in Kyiv in 2024, reports being stalked by an employee of the Qazaq Embassy in Ukraine. He is an employee of the National Security Committee of Qazaqstan (QNB) working under diplomatic cover, Sadykova said in a new video on the YouTube channel BASE.

Sadykova says she noticed a man near her house on Havrylyshyn Street in Kyiv at about 8:30 a.m. on 13 November 2025. The man was following her and filming her on his phone. When Sadykova started filming him in response, the man hid his phone away and tried to leave.

Sadykova claims that the man is Rustem Sarsembekov, a Qazaq Embassy employee ​​who, according to her information, is a member of an external surveillance group targeting her in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian police, who arrived at the scene, identified him. According to sources, Sarsembekov was born in 1987 in Astana.

The footage shows Sadykova approach the man and ask if he was following her. The man denied it, claiming he was “on his way to work” and “living nearby.” After the police was called, he tried to contact the Qazaq consul, but the diplomatic representative did not arrive.

The assassination of Aydos Sadykov

On June 18, 2024, an unknown person shot at Qazaq opposition journalist Aydos Sadykov in the Shevchenkiv district of Kyiv.

The Kyiv National Police HQ have begun a pre-trial investigation into the attempted assassination of the Qazaq journalist Aydos Sadykov.

On June 20, Qazaqstan President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev said that the Qazaq state authorities were ready to join the investigation into the attempted assassination of Qazaq opposition journalist Aydos Sadykov in Kyiv.

On the night of July 2 Aydos Sadykov died.

Who is Aydos Sadykov

According to RBC Ukraine, Aydos Sadykov was born in the village of Qarabutaq (Aktobe region, Qazaqstan), near the border with Russia. He graduated from the history department of the Aktobe Pedagogical Institute.

Sadykov has been prosecuted in his homeland. In 2010, he was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of “hooliganism” and released in 2012. He and his supporters called the charges fabricated. Sadykov was an active public figure, organized protest rallies. He ran the Aktobe region branch of the oppositional All-National Social Democratic Party “Azat”; having left the party, he attempted to create the opposition public movement “Hastat” and an independent trade union at the enterprises of the Chinese oil company “SNPS-Aktobemunaigaz”.

He and his wife run the YouTube channel “BASE”, criticizing the Qazaq authorities and oligarchs. Sadykov is also known for supporting the January 2022 protests in Qazaqstan, which were suppressed by CSTO troops. In October 2023, he was declared wanted in Qazaqstan for “inciting hate”.

The latest video on his channel was uploaded today. It has the title “The Qazaq President has become a puppet to Russian influence agents.”