Nemtsov's partner returns to Ukraine

Duritskaya flew into an international airport in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, late on Monday, and was quickly whisked away in a car with blacked-out windows.

The 23-year-old Ukrainian, who had been walking with Nemtsov when he was mysteriously killed on Friday, shot with a Makarov pistol, was accompanied on the plane journey by her lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov.

Prokhorov told reporters his client - who had complained previously that she was being prevented from leaving Moscow - needed to rest. The lawyer said Duritskaya had been left "emotionally drained" by investigators' questioning.

"She has given a full and exhaustive account of her last hours with Boris," Prokhorov said. "If any further investigative action is required, she has promised - something she has done publicly - that she will cooperate. The main thing is that the guilty parties be tracked down."

Assailant 'not seen'

In an interview giving her first public comments since Nemtsov's death, Duritskaya said she did not see the person who shot him in a drive-by attack. The incident took place on a bridge near the Kremlin, after the pair had dined at a restaurant on Red Square.

"I don't know where he came from, but he was behind," she said, referring to the gunman. "I didn't see the man. I turned round and all I saw was a light-colored car. I saw neither the brand nor the license plate of the car that was driving away."

Nemtsov was believed to be working on a report containing evidence of secret Russian military involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and forces loyal to Kyiv.

Polish politician denied entry

A funeral for the 55-year-old Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and longtime critic of President Vladimir Putin, was to be held in Moscow's Troekurovskoye cemetery on Tuesday.

Poland's Senate speaker Bogdan Borusewic said on Monday that Russian authorities had denied him entry into the country for the funeral.

The Kremlin has said it is determined to find the killer, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday pledging that the "heinous crime" would be "fully investigated."

Investigators have said they are looking into several possible motives for Nemtsov's killing, including the possibility that he was used as a "sacrificial victim" by those seeking to destabilize the political situation.

rc/bk (AP, dpa, Reuters)