KYIV: Ukrainian former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy was shot lifeless within the western metropolis of Lviv on Saturday (Aug 30) and a search was underway for the killer.
The Prosecutor Normal’s workplace mentioned a gunman had fired a number of photographs at Parubiy, killing him on the spot. The attacker fled and a manhunt was launched, it mentioned.
Parubiy, 54, was a member of parliament, had been parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019, and was one of many leaders of protests in 2013-14 calling for nearer ties with the European Union.
He was additionally secretary of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Defence Council from February to August 2014, a interval when combating started in jap Ukraine and Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula.
Officers gave no rapid indication whether or not the homicide had any direct hyperlink to Russia’s battle in Ukraine.
“Minister of Inside Affairs Ihor Klymenko and Prosecutor Normal Ruslan Kravchenko have simply reported on the primary recognized circumstances of a horrific homicide in Lviv. Andriy Parubiy has been killed,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
He despatched his condolences to Parubiy’s household and family members, and added: “All essential forces and means are engaged within the investigation and seek for the killer.”
Nationwide police mentioned the capturing in Lviv was reported at round midday (9am GMT). Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi mentioned discovering the killer and establishing the circumstances of the assault was of utmost significance.
“This can be a matter of safety in a rustic at battle, the place, as we are able to see, there aren’t any utterly secure locations,” he wrote on Telegram.
TRIBUTES POUR IN
Tributes poured in from colleagues in parliament and the federal government, praising Parubiy’s contribution to Ukraine’s combat for sovereignty and independence as one of many leaders of what grew to become often called the Euromaidan protests in 2013-14.
Former President Petro Poroshenko mentioned on Telegram that the killing of Parubiy, who was a member of the parliamentary committee on nationwide safety, defence and intelligence, was “a shot fired on the coronary heart of Ukraine”.
“Andriy was a terrific man and a real pal. That’s the reason they take revenge, that’s what they’re afraid of,” he mentioned, lauding Parubiy’s contribution to constructing out the Ukrainian military.
In a press release on Telegram, International Minister Andrii Sybiha described Parubiy as “a patriot and statesman who made an infinite contribution to the defence of Ukraine’s freedom, independence and sovereignty. He was a person who rightfully belongs within the historical past books”.
Ukrainian legislation enforcement supplied no data on the killer’s id or motives.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko referred to as for a immediate investigation of the homicide, calling it “a profound loss” for the nation.
“You all the time remained a patriot of Ukraine and made a terrific contribution to the formation of our state,” she wrote on X.
