The former speaker of Ukraine’s parliament was shot and killed in the western city of Lviv on Saturday. A manhunt is currently underway for the killer, who fired roughly eight shots from an electric bicycle while dressed as a courier, according to Polish media outlet TVP World.
Andriy Parubiy shot dead at 54
Andriy Parubiy served as Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019. He was 54 years old at the time of his death on Saturday.
The shooting occurred around 12 p.m. local time, according to a post from the National Police of Ukraine’s official Telegram account.
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Various reports suggest that the gunman shot seven or eight bullets at Parubiy from an electric bicycle. The shooter was reportedly wearing a helmet and a backpack with a courier company’s branding. The individual fled the scene, and a manhunt is currently underway.
In a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Parubiy’s death, calling it a “horrendous murder.”
“My condolences to his family and loved ones,” Zelenskyy went on to write. “All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer.”
Who was Andriy Parubiy?
Parubiy was recognized as a top leader in Ukraine’s fight for European Union membership, having led the European Solidarity Party, and was a staunch defender of the country’s parliamentary system. He played a pivotal role in the Revolution of Dignity protests that spread across Ukraine from 2013 to 2014.
Parubiy served as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council beginning in February 2014, the same month that Russia annexed Crimea. He held the position until August of that year.
“Andriy Parubiy embodied the spirit of Ukrainian resilience and the pursuit of democracy,” Ukrainian World Congress President Paul Grod said in a statement. “His legacy will live on in the hearts of all who fight for freedom and justice. We express our solidarity with his family and with all who are mourning this devastating loss.”
Was Russia behind the attack?
Russia has not yet commented on Parubiy’s death, nor taken credit for it. However, a number of Ukrainian politicians are laying the blame at Moscow’s feet.
“This was clearly a Russian assassination,” Mykola Kniazhytskyi, a Ukrainian MP, told the Polish state news agency PAP. “The Russians are trying to intimidate Ukrainians and to eliminate anyone who consistently defends Ukraine’s independence.”
According to Kniazhytskyi, he and Parubiy had been working on a language law that aimed to make Ukrainian the official language of the country.
In a recent interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that preserving the cultural heritage, including language, of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine, was one of Moscow’s top priorities when it invaded the country in February 2022.
According to TVP World, Iryna Farion, another MP who worked on a similar Ukrainian language law, was also shot and killed outside her home in Lviv in July 2024.
“Russia did this — there’s no question,” political analyst Yevhen Mahda told Polish state media. “Judging from Russian social media, their goal is to destabilize Ukraine as much as possible and to show they are all-powerful, capable of murdering people who defend national interests and democracy.”
