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01-09-2025
KYIV: A prominent Ukrainian politician and former parliament speaker has been shot dead in western Ukraine, officials said, as a search was under way to find the attacker.
Andriy Parubiy, who also previously served as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, was killed in the city of Lviv on Saturday.
The Prosecutor General’s office said a gunman had fired several shots at Parubiy, killing him “on the spot”. The attacker fled, and a manhunt was launched, it said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the killing as a “horrendous murder” and offered his condolences to Parubiy’s family and loved ones.
“All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
Parubiy, 54, was a member of parliament and had served as parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019.
He was also one of the leaders of mass protests in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014, calling for closer ties with the European Union.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately release a possible motive for the fatal shooting.
The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, said finding the killer and establishing the circumstances of the attack was of utmost importance.
“This is a matter of security in a country at war, where, as we can see, there are no completely safe places,” he wrote on Telegram.
Tributes poured in from colleagues in parliament and the government, praising Parubiy’s contribution to Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and independence during the 2013-2014 protest movement.
Former President Petro Poroshenko said on Telegram that his killing was “a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine”.
“Andriy was a great man and a true friend. That is why they take revenge, that is what they are afraid of,” he said, lauding Parubiy’s contribution to building out the Ukrainian army.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also described Parubiy as “a patriot and statesman who made an enormous contribution to the defence of Ukraine’s freedom, independence and sovereignty”.
“He was a man who rightfully belongs in the history books,” Sybiha wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his officials will meet representatives of United States President Donald Trump in New York as part of intensified mediation efforts to end the war with Russia.
Speaking during his nightly address on Wednesday, Zelenskyy also announced the appointment of a new Ukrainian ambassador to the US, saying former Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna would replace Oksana Markarova, who has served in the role since 2021. Zelenskyy said he had outlined to Stefanishyna “the key tasks of invigorating the work of our embassy”.
“Much of Ukraine’s long-term security depends on relations with America,” he said, adding that assuring continued weapons transfers from the US was a top priority.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier told US media he expected to hold talks with Ukrainian officials this week.
The US president had met Zelenskyy earlier this month, just days after holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Still, a proposed meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin has remained elusive, with Zelenskyy on Wednesday decrying “very arrogant and negative signals from Moscow regarding the negotiations”. (Int’l News Desk)
