‘Not accidental’: Ukraine suspects Russian hand in murder of former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy
Andriy Parubiy was parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019 and was one of the leaders of protests in 2013-14 calling for closer ties with the EU.
Ukrainian police said on Monday that they suspect Russian involvement in the murder of former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy.
Ivan Vyhivskyi, the head of the Ukrainian police, vowed to hold everyone involved in the crime accountable.
"We know that this crime was not accidental. There is a Russian involvement. Everyone will be held accountable before the law," Vyhivskyi said on Facebook.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a suspect had been arrested in the murder of Andriy Parubiy, a crime that shook the war-torn country.
"The suspect has given an initial testimony. Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder," Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
Zelensky said that all circumstances of the murder must be uncovered while thanking the law enforcement of the country for their swift action in the case.
"I thank law enforcement for their swift and coordinated work. All the circumstances of this horrific murder must be uncovered," Zelensky said.
The Andriy Parubiy murder
54-year-old Andriy Parubiy was shot dead in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called "a horrific murder" and a "matter of security in a country at war."
Andriy Parubiy was parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019 and was one of the leaders of protests in 2013-14 calling for closer ties with the European Union.
The alleged shooter was detained overnight in the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine, the country’s minister of internal affairs, Ihor Klymenko, said on Telegram.
Klymenko refused to share details but added that it was a “carefully planned crime”, with everything from route mapping to an escape route.
"Many details cannot be shared at this time. I will only say that the crime was carefully planned: the victim’s movements were studied, a route was mapped out, and an escape plan was thought through," the minister said.
