Ukrainian Ex-Parliament Speaker Shot Dead

A prominent Ukrainian politician was gunned down in broad daylight in the western city of Lviv on Saturday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, condemned the killing of Andriy Parubiy, a former speaker of the country’s parliament, as a “horrific murder”.

Police said the 54-year-old was shot by a hail of bullets at around noon local time and died at the scene.

Vowing to find the killer, Zelensky said: “All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation.”

“Unfortunately, the crime was carefully planned,” he added. Some Ukrainian officials have hinted at Russian involvement.

The well-known politician served as speaker from 2016 until 2019 and was a leading figure in Ukraine’s pro-European protest movements of 2004 and 2014.

Prosecutors have opened a murder probe but have not mentioned any possible motives.

The gunman was on an electric bike and appeared to be dressed as a delivery driver with his face covered by a helmet, according to media reports and alleged footage of the assailant.

He reportedly approached Parubiy on the street, opened fire, and rapidly fled the scene.

“An unidentified man fired several shots at the politician, killing Andriy Parubiy on the spot,” the prosecutor general’s office said.

Andriy Sadovyi, mayor of Lviv, said finding the killer was of utmost importance. “This is a matter of security in a country at war, where, as we can see, there are no completely safe places,” he wrote on Telegram.

Kyrylo Budanov, Kyiv’s intelligence chief, claimed Parubiy had been “killed by enemy bullets”, without elaborating.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both sides have accused each other of assassinations of key political and military figures.

Russian state media said Parubiy has been wanted by Russian authorities since 2023.

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s prime minister, called for a prompt investigation of the murder, calling it “a profound loss” for the country.

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, described Parubiy as “a patriot and statesman who made an enormous contribution to the defence of Ukraine’s freedom, independence and sovereignty. He was a man who rightfully belongs in the history books.”

Petro Poroshenko, the former president, Yanukovych, paid tribute to a “brother-in-arms” and said his murder was “a shot at the heart of Ukraine”.

Parubiy was a key supporter of the pro-European Orange Revolution in 2004 and the Maidan Revolution in 2014.

During the widespread protests against the decision by Viktor Yanukovych, president at the time, not to sign an agreement to bring Ukraine closer to the EU, Parubiy led self-defence volunteer units protecting the demonstrators from government troops.

After the ousting of Yanukovych later in 2014, Parubii was appointed secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.

He held that role during Moscow’s illegal occupation of Crimea and its backing of separatists who seized control of parts of the Donbas region, making him a prime target of Russian threats and intimidation.

He reportedly survived an assassination by a grenade that year.

Latest in a series of killings

The daylight murder of Parubiy comes after a former Ukrainian lawyer and politician was shot dead in a suburb of Madrid by an assassin.

The high-profile killing of Andriy Portnov, a controversial figure connected to Yanukovych’s pro-Russian government, remains unsolved. There have been no arrests and the motive is still unknown.

In July, a Ukrainian intelligence officer, Ivan Voronych, was shot dead as he walked through Kyiv by a masked assailant reportedly linked to Russia’s security service.

Ukraine has conducted a series of assassinations on Russian soil, targeting high-ranking military figures connected to the war including Igor Kirillov, the Russian general, in December 2024.

Earlier this year, Yaroslav Moskalik, another general, was killed in a Moscow car bomb attack widely attributed to Kyiv. Ukraine’s security services do not officially admit responsibility for the deaths.