Ukraine Arrests Suspects in Murder of Former Parliament Speaker, Alleging Russian Culpability 

Ukrainian authorities detained a suspect in the murder of former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy, who was killed in an attack over the weekend, and said they believe Russia may be behind the assassination, Politico reported. 

A gunman disguised as a food delivery worker shot and killed Parubiy, 54, on Saturday in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Parubiy, a protest leader in the pro-Western Euromaidan Revolution of 2013-2014, had served as speaker from April 2016 to August 2019, and has long advocated for stronger ties with the European Union, Al Jazeera wrote. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram Monday that the suspect had given “initial testimony” and that authorities are urgently investigating to establish the full facts behind the murder.  

According to Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, the suspect was arrested in the Khmelnytsky region of western Ukraine. Klymenko said that the crime was “carefully prepared,” as Parubiy’s movements were tracked, the route was mapped, and an escape strategy was planned. 

Some Ukrainian officials hinted at Russian involvement in the killing. Ivan Vyhivskyi, head of the National Police of Ukraine, said in a statement on Facebook that the murder was not “accidental,” adding that there was a “Russian trace” to it.  

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, both sides have traded accusations of assassinations of prominent political and military figures. Other prominent Ukrainian politicians and activists have been killed this year, including former lawmaker Iryna Farion in Lviv and anti-Russian activist Demian Hanul in Odesa. 

Russian state media reported that Parubiy had been wanted by Russia since 2023. 

Parubiy was one of the key leaders in Ukraine’s Euromaidan Revolution, which ousted the Kremlin puppet regime of Viktor Yanukovych, now exiled in Russia. He was also a leading advocate for Ukraine’s cultural, linguistic, and religious independence from Russian influence. 

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has long argued that the Euromaidan Revolution was a coup d’état planned by the West and has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. He has also demanded that Ukraine reinstate the Russian Orthodox church and Russian as a state language in the country as conditions for a peace deal. 

In 2014, Parubiy had survived an assassination attempt by a grenade, according to media reports.