Ukrainian lawmaker and former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday in what authorities described as a “carefully planned” attack. The assailant, armed with a short-barreled firearm, fled the scene and remains at large, CNN reported.
Parubiy, 54, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died before emergency services arrived, according to Maksym Kozitskiy, head of the Lviv regional military administration. Police believe the killer was “thoroughly prepared” for the targeted assassination.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the incident as a “horrendous murder,” confirming that Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko were overseeing the investigation. “All necessary forces and means are engaged in the search for the killer,” Zelensky said in a post on X, extending condolences to Parubiy’s family.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola also expressed shock, writing on X: “Deeply shocked by the terrible murder of the former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada… My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”
A prominent political figure, Parubiy co-founded the Social-National Party of Ukraine in 1991 and later distanced himself from the group. He served in parliament from 2007 until his death, playing a leading role in Ukraine’s political upheavals, including the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013–14 Maidan protests, where he coordinated operations in Kyiv’s Independence Square.
Parubiy also served as Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council in 2014 and was instrumental in pushing policies on national identity, including the 2019 law establishing Ukrainian as the mandatory state language in public life.
Former President Petro Poroshenko strongly denounced the killing, calling it “a shot at the Army, the Language, and the Faith,” and vowed that those responsible would face justice. “Ukraine has lost a great son, but his cause will live on… Heroes do not die. Glory to Ukraine!” Poroshenko wrote.
