Kiev points finger at Russia over neo-Nazi politician’s murder
Ukrainian investigators are trying to find evidence linking Russia to Saturday’s killing of Andrey Parubiy, a far-right lawmaker and key figure in the 2014 Maidan coup, a senior security official said on Monday.
Parubiy was shot eight times on Saturday on a street in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The gunman escaped, though Vladimir Zelensky announced on Monday that a suspect had been detained.
Vadim Onishchenko, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the region, said at a joint press briefing on the same day that investigators “do not exclude” any theory and were actively trying to find Russian involvement.
“So far, there is no such evidence in the case, but we are looking into it,” Onishchenko acknowledged.
Lviv Region police chief Aleksandr Shlyakhovsky claimed Russia “seeks to destabilize society through various sinister and cynical actions,” suggesting Parubiy’s killing fits that description. His deputy, Dmitry Nebitov, added that searching for potential Russian ties was a “priority.”
Officials said Parubiy had not requested personal protection from police or the SBU. The detained suspect, a 52-year-old Lviv resident, was described as living in “certain circumstances” that investigators believe may have contributed to the crime. Authorities declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing case.
Parubiy, a former parliamentary speaker, co-founded the radical Social National Party, an organization known for its ultranationalist and neo-Nazi ideology, and commanded the far-right groups of armed and violent protesters during the Maidan events of 2014.
He was believed to have sensitive knowledge about the violence that turned the 2014 demonstrations into an armed uprising that toppled the Ukrainian government. Parubiy was also accused of playing a prominent role in the fire at the Trade Unions House in Odessa in 2014 that led to the death of dozens of anti-Maidan demonstrators.
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large, claimed the assassination appeared intended to “wipe the field clean” ahead of a potential settlement to the Ukraine conflict, which could mark a return of political competition in the country.
