The former parliament speaker in Ukraine was shot up to eight times and killed in broad daylight by a gunman disguised as a courier.
Andriy Parubiy was a prominent pro-Western politician. President Volodymyr Zelensky and local authorities said there would be an investigation following Parubiy being shot dead in the city of Lviv.
Zelensky said the crime was “carefully prepared” and that “everything is being done to solve it”. He instructed the chief of Ukraine’s SBU security service, Vasyl Maliuk, to join the investigation.
“The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, and the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, have just reported the first known circumstances of the terrible murder in Lviv,” Zelensky said. “Andriy Parubiy has died. My condolences to the family and friends.. All necessary forces and means have been involved in the investigation and search for the killer.”
The governor of Lviv Oblast, Maksym Kozytskyi, said a search for the shooter is underway.
A report on Ukraine’s state information and news agency Ukrinform said journalist Vitalii Hlahola reported in a post on Telegram that Parubiy was shot eight times.
“According to my sources in the Lviv police, former Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy was shot eight times,” Hlahola said. Seven shell casings were found at the scene.
The gunman was dressed in a black helmet with yellow markings and riding an e-bike, Hlahola said. The journalist said the suspect was dressed as a Glovo service courier. Glovo is a delivery app based in Spain.
The National Police of Ukraine received a report of gunfire in the Sykhivskyi district of Lviv around noon today. Parubiy died at the scene.
A statement from police released on social media said “an unknown man fired several shots at a politician, as a result of which Andriy Parubiy died on the spot”.
So far, there have been no comments from officials on the potential motive behind the killing.
Parubiy was a well-known politician in Ukraine known for his involvement in the peaceful ‘Orange Revolution’ protests in 2004, which initially prevented Kremlin-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych from taking the presidency following reports of the runoff being rigged.
Parubiy later played a part in the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, leading self-defence volunteer units.
Later, Parubiy was appointed secretary of the National Security and Defence Council. His position made him the frequent target of Russian disinformation.
The politician then became the first deputy parliament speaker between 2014 and 2016 and was parliament speaker from 2016 until 2019. He officiated at comedian Zelensky’s inauguration in 2019, joking warmly “that was fun” while closing the ceremony.
Parubiy was a “consistent defender of Ukrainian statehood”, according to incumbent speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Stefanchuk said: “On behalf of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, I express my condolences to Andrii’s family and friends…”
MP Iryna Gerashchenko – from the same party as the slain politician – blamed Russia for the killing. My throat tightens with rage and hatred towards the enemy,” she posted.
Parubiy was a member of European Solidarity, now the main opposition party to Zelensky’s ruling party, Servant of the People.
She called Parubiy “one of the founders of the modern Ukraine… principled and decent, patriotic, intelligent”.
She demanded “an immediate, thorough, professional, transparent investigation into the murder of the statesman”.
She posted: “We associate this murder with his state-building pro-Ukrainian position and believe that behind this brutal crime may stand our eternal enemy and terrorist – the Russian Federation and its fifth column.”
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