A former speaker of Ukraine’s parliament and a key figure in the country’s pro-European protest movements, Andriy Parubiy, was shot dead on Saturday in the western city of Lviv, authorities confirmed.
Parubiy, 54, who also previously served as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, was gunned down in broad daylight. Police said the shooter is still at large.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the killing as a “horrific murder” and vowed that “all necessary forces and means” would be deployed to investigate. “Unfortunately, the crime was carefully planned,” he wrote on social media.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said an unidentified man fired several shots at Parubiy, killing him instantly. State broadcaster Suspilne, citing anonymous sources, reported the attacker was disguised as a delivery rider and fled on an electric bike.
Photos circulated in Ukrainian media appeared to show the politician’s body on the street, though their authenticity has not been independently verified.
Parubiy, a sitting lawmaker, was widely regarded as one of the architects of Ukraine’s pro-democracy movements in 2004 and 2014. During the 2014 Maidan protests, he served as a “commander” of self-defence forces and later briefly joined the National Security and Defence Council after the ouster of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
Tributes from across Ukraine poured in on Saturday. Ex-president Petro Poroshenko described Parubiy’s murder as “a shot at the heart of Ukraine,” while parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk called him “one of the founders of modern Ukraine.”
Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Parubiy had been “killed by enemy bullets,” hinting at possible Russian involvement. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, both Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over assassinations of high-profile political and military figures. Russian state media noted that Parubiy had been on a wanted list in Russia since 2023.
International reaction also followed swiftly. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the news was “shocking,” recalling Parubiy’s role in helping Poland evacuate its consulate during Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea.
A historian by training, Parubiy had long championed Ukrainian independence from Moscow and promoted the use of the Ukrainian language over Russian. Supporters remembered him as both a staunch patriot and a personable leader. Mustafa Nayem, a fellow Maidan activist, told AFP: “Andriy always retained his humanity, which was remarkable for someone of his political standing.”
Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a murder investigation but have not yet identified a motive.
