Suspect arrested in killing of Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Parubiy, says Zelenskyy

KYIV: One suspect has been arrested in the assassination of the prominent Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Parubiy, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Parubiy was fatally shot in what authorities describe as a “carefully planned” attack in the western city of Lviv on Saturday, According to CNN, citing the police, Parubiy was struck multiple times with a short-barreled firearm.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk have just reported the apprehension of a suspect in the murder of Andriy Parubiy.”

Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk have just reported the apprehension of a suspect in the murder of Andriy Parubiy. The necessary investigative actions are ongoing. I have instructed that the available…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 31, 2025

Zelenskyy further informed that the suspect has given an initial testimony as the investigation is still underway to establish all circumstances of murder.

“I spoke with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. He reported on the next procedural steps regarding the suspect in the murder of Andriy Parubiy. The suspect has given an initial testimony. Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder”, Zelenskyy said.

Parubiy, a sitting member of Ukraine’s parliament and former speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, died before emergency services could reach him, head of the Lviv region military administration, Maksym Kozitskiy, confirmed, CNN reported.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the killing as a “horrendous murder”, echoing law enforcement’s assessment that the act was deliberate and premeditated.

“Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko have just reported the first known circumstances of the horrendous murder in Lviv. Andriy Parubiy was killed. My condolences to his family and loved ones. All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer”, Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Parubiy, 54, had been active in Ukrainian politics since the early 1990s, co-founding the Social-National Party of Ukraine in 1991 before later distancing himself from the group. He served in the Ukrainian parliament from 2007 until his death, CNN reported.

As per CNN, he played a significant role in Ukraine’s political uprisings, including the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013-14 Maidan protests. During the latter, he led operations in Kyiv’s Independence Square, becoming a key figure in the movement that led to the ouster of then-President Viktor Yanukovych, CNN reported.

Parubiy later served as Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council for Ukraine in 2014 and was known for championing national identity policies, including the 2019 language law mandating Ukrainian as the official language in many public domains, as reported by CNN. (ANI)