The suspect in the murder of the former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and the MP of the “European Solidarity” party has confessed to the crime. Commenting on the motives for the murder, the man stated that it was "his personal revenge on the Ukrainian authorities".
At the same time, he denied information that Russian special services blackmailed him and promised to return the body of his dead son to him in exchange for the murder.
"This is not true. All I want is for the verdict to be passed quickly. Yes, I admit I killed him. And I want to ask to be exchanged for a prisoner of war so I can go and find my sonʼs body," he said.
The man says that he chose Andriy Parubiy for the murder because he "was nearby".
What preceded
Former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy was killed in Lviv on August 30, 2025. The shooting occurred in the Frankivsk district of Lviv. As a result of the injuries received, the victim died on the spot.
At midnight on September 1, 36 hours after the murder, law enforcement officials announced that they had detained a suspect in the murder in the Khmelnytskyi region. They say that the crime was carefully prepared: the deceasedʼs travel schedule was studied, a route was laid, and an escape plan was thought out.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the first statements of the suspect are already available. The head of the National Police of Ukraine Ivan Vyhivskyi stated that the murder of Parubiy is not a random crime, there is a Russian trace.
On the morning of September 1, the detainee was informed of the suspicion. The suspectʼs actions were qualified under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely: Part 1 of Article 115 (intentional murder) and Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons).
- Peopleʼs Deputy of the European Solidarity faction Volodymyr Ariyev said that Andriy Parubiy had asked to be provided with state protection six months before the murder. The State Protection Department explained that Parubiy was not on the list of officials who are provided with state protection.
- Parubiy and his family could have received state protection when the official held the position of Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2016-2019. And also for one year after these powers ended.
- Andriy Parubiy will be buried on September 2 at the Lychakiv Cemetery.
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