On the morning of September 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a suspect in the killing of former Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy had been arrested.
Parubiy, 54, a leading figure in Ukraine’s pro-European protest movements in 2004 and 2014, was shot dead in the western city of Lviv on August 30, according to AFP.
On September 1, President Zelensky wrote on social media platform X that Interior Minister Igor Klymenko and Security Service chief Vasyl Maliuk had informed him of the arrest. “I thank our law enforcement officers for their swift work and close coordination,” Zelensky said.
Minister Klymenko stated that the assassination had been meticulously prepared: Parubiy’s travel schedule had been studied, and the suspect’s escape plan carefully mapped out.
After the shooting on August 30, Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne, citing anonymous sources, reported that the suspect had disguised himself as a delivery worker and used an electric bicycle. President Zelensky also described the attack as a deliberate plot that had been thoroughly planned.
Several tributes from Ukrainian officials to Parubiy—who was still serving as a member of parliament—hinted at suspicions of Russian involvement. Russian state media reported that Parubiy had been wanted by Russian authorities since 2023, according to AFP.
As of now, there has been no official reaction from Moscow regarding Parubiy’s killing. Since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, both sides have accused each other of carrying out assassinations of key political and military figures, AFP noted.