Zelensky said a suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy
Ukrainian police have detained a suspect in the shooting death of Euromaidan leader and former parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy.
The arrest of a suspect in the murder of well-known Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy was announced early Monday by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A manhunt was launched across the country after Parubiy, 54, was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday by an assailant posing as a courier. According to Igor Klymenko, the interior minister of Ukraine, the suspect was captured in the western Khmelnytskyi region, and the murder was “carefully prepared,” with the victim’s escape strategy, travel routes, and itinerary all thoroughly planned out.
“I spoke with Ruslan Kravchenko, the chief prosecutor, and he confirmed that the suspect provided an initial testimony,” Zelensky added. “Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder,” the president said on social media, complimenting prosecutors and law officials for “working around the clock.”
Video of the attack that has not been confirmed seemed to show the delivery-uniformed shooter coming up behind Parubiy and shooting. According to Lviv police commander Oleksandr Shliakhovskyi, the assailant fired roughly eight shots.
Later, the suspect allegedly pretended to be an employee of the food delivery business Glovo, which expressed its dismay and promised to cooperate fully with the investigation.
As speaker of the Ukrainian parliament from 2016 to 2019, Parubiy played a pivotal role in the Euromaidan demonstrations in 2013 and 2014, which culminated to the overthrow of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Organizing the “self-defence” battalions that protected demonstrators in Independence Square in Kyiv solidified his position in the country’s pro-European movement.
His murder’s motive is still unknown, but authorities said more information will be made public as the investigation progresses.
