Ukraine accuses Russian intelligence of ordering assassination of ex-Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it has gathered enough evidence that the assassin of Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy acted on the orders of Russian intelligence.

He has been charged with treason, the agency said on Oct. 3

Parubiy, a veteran lawmaker and key figure in the EuroMaidan Revolution, was shot dead in Lviv on Aug. 30. Ukrainian authorities detained a 52-year-old suspect from Lviv shortly after the killing, announcing that he had been apprehended in neighboring Khmelnytskyi Oblast.

The SBU said that the suspect had been recruited by Russian operatives more than a year ago and had since carried out intelligence-gathering tasks, including tracking Ukrainian military movements and reporting them to Moscow.

After testing his loyalty, Russian security services allegedly ordered him to kill Parubiy and financed preparations for the attack.

According to investigators, the suspect monitored Parubiy's daily routine and movements while preparing an escape plan abroad. Law enforcement officers detained him before he could leave Ukraine.

The suspect has now been charged under Ukraine's Criminal Code for treason committed under martial law.  He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Earlier, authorities classified the murder under another article of Ukraine's Criminal Code, which addresses the killing of a public official in connection with state duties.

Parubiy, 54, was a long-time activist, politician, and government official. He played a central role during the EuroMaidan Revolution, later serving as secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council in 2014 and as parliament speaker from 2016 to 2019.

Since 2019, he had been a lawmaker with the opposition European Solidarity party.

Police officials previously said the suspect fired eight shots at Parubiy with a short-barreled firearm, killing him instantly in Lviv's southern Frankivskyi district. Local media reported the assailant was disguised as a delivery courier and rode an electric bicycle.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek