A SUSPECT has been arrested following the assassination of Ukraine’s former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy.
Volodymyr Zelensky announced the apprehension following a major search for a suspect.
EPAAndriy Parubiy, the former speaker of Ukrainian Parliament[/caption]
ReutersA police officer guards at the site of his murder[/caption]
East2WestThe moment Andriy Parubiy (L) was assassinated by a gunman (R)[/caption]
Zelensky said: “The necessary investigative actions are ongoing.
“I thank law enforcement for their swift and coordinated work. All the circumstances of this horrific murder must be uncovered.”
A former Parliament Speaker and MP, Andriy Parubiy, 54, was killed in a shooting in Lviv.
Shocking footage showed a gunman posing as a delivery driver shooting down Parubiy 12pm on Saturday in the Sykhovsky district.
The killer fled the scene on what is believed to be an electric bike.
His assassin was reportedly disguised as a courier working for delivery firm Glovo.
Volodymyr Zelensky said on X at the time: “Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko have just reported the first known circumstances of the horrendous murder in Lviv.
“Andriy Parubiy was killed. My condolences to his family and loved ones.
“All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer.”
Cops further said: “Law enforcement officers are taking all measures to establish the identity of the shooter and his location.
“All details will be disclosed in the manner and to the extent stipulated by criminal procedural legislation.”
Parubiy was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was found on Akademika Yefremova Street in Lviv.
The former Speaker of Parliament was shot between five and eight times, reports say.
He had been a leader in the protests in Kyiv in 2014 that led to the toppling of pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych.
In a chilling prediction, he once said: “Putin has one goal – to take full control of Moldova, Belarus, and Georgia, but I dare to suggest that first and foremost he wants to take control of Ukraine.
“He has a maniacal idea: to restore the geopolitical power of the Kremlin that existed during the Soviet Union era.”
Parubiy previously served as the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.
He was prominent in the protests in Kyiv in 2014 that led to the toppling of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych.
The staunchly pro-Ukrainian politician was known as the “commandant of Maidan” – the tent camp that led the demonstrations in Kyiv.
He also predicted the invasion of Ukraine years ago, previously saying: “Putin has one goal – to take full control of Moldova, Belarus, and Georgia, but I dare to suggest that first and foremost he wants to take control of Ukraine.
“He has a maniacal idea: to restore the geopolitical power of the Kremlin that existed during the Soviet Union era.”
In 2014 there was a separate failed assassination attempt on Parubiy, who was serving as Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council secretary.
An anonymous suspect threw a grenade at his feet – before it rolled under a car and exploded.
Parubiy was also a senior figure in European Solidarity, the political party led by former President Pedro Poroshenko, now the main opposition party to Zelensky’s ruling party.
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