Former Ukraine parliament speaker Parubiy buried after assassination in Lviv
LVIV: Ukrainians on Tuesday (Sep 2) paid their final respects to Andriy Parubiy, the former parliament speaker gunned down in a daytime attack in Lviv, the second political assassination in the western city in just over a year.
Mourners lined the cobblestone streets as the coffin of Parubiy, 54, a veteran politician who played a leading role in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy uprising, was carried to burial.
SUSPECT CLAIMS ‘REVENGE’
Police detained a Ukrainian man accused of the killing and said on Monday they suspected Russian involvement. Moscow has not commented.
In a televised court hearing, the suspect admitted to the shooting but described it as “my personal revenge” against the state, saying he hoped to be included in a prisoner swap to recover the body of his son, a soldier killed in the war. He denied being recruited by Russia.
A Lviv court ordered him held for 60 days pending investigation.
LOCAL ANGER, RUSSIAN SHADOW
Parubiy, a native of Lviv who began in nationalist politics before becoming parliament speaker, was remembered by residents as a patriot.
“He was a big patriot of Ukraine – that’s all you need to say,” said Orest Kokovskyi, 82, dressed in traditional embroidered garb.
The assassination follows the July 2024 killing of nationalist politician and linguist Iryna Farion in the same city. Police say they see no link between the two murders, but many residents suspect Russian involvement.
“They (the Russians) are destroying the best representatives of Ukraine so that we don’t have a chance to develop,” said local resident Lidia Boiko, 44.
Parubiy’s death underscores the climate of insecurity more than three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lviv, which is far from the front lines, was shaken by this targeted act of violence.
