Former Speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament, Andriy Parubiy, was shot dead in broad daylight on Saturday in Lviv by a gunman disguised as a delivery courier.
The 54-year-old lawmaker, a strong ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky, was gunned down around noon in the Sykhovsky district. Witnesses said the killer fled the scene on an electric bicycle.
The assassin, reportedly posing as a Glovo delivery worker, wore black clothing and carried a yellow courier bag. Security footage shows him trailing Parubiy before opening fire. Parubiy was struck multiple times and died at the scene.
Police said a “public and political figure born in 1971” had been killed before confirming Parubiy’s identity. A murder investigation has been launched by local authorities and Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).
We are at war in Ukraine. We in Great Britain know only too well how Russia uses every means possible for assassinations—chemical, radioactive, you name it.
This footage shows a killer opening fire with a pistol at Andriy Parubiy, former Speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament and key… pic.twitter.com/7yuL6ovQSl
— Shaun Pinner (@olddog100ua) August 30, 2025
Zelensky Condemns Killing
President Zelensky called the killing “horrendous” and pledged a full investigation. “Andriy Parubiy was killed. My condolences to his family and loved ones,” he wrote on X.
He said the murder was “carefully prepared” and vowed that “all necessary forces and means” were engaged in the manhunt for the assassin.
Political Fallout
MP Iryna Gerashchenko, a colleague in Parubiy’s party, accused Russia of orchestrating the attack. “We associate this murder with his state-building pro-Ukrainian position and believe that behind this brutal crime may stand our eternal enemy and terrorist — the Russian Federation,” she said.
Prominent Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko added: “It’s hard to believe, but unfortunately it is true… Andriy Parubiy has died. A true friend and colleague. He was an exceptionally good person and a true patriot of Ukraine. The killers must be found and punished.”
Parubiy’s Career
Parubiy, once known as the “commandant of Maidan,” was a leading figure in the 2014 protests that ousted pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych. He later served as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and went on to chair the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.
He was also a senior member of European Solidarity, the party of former president Petro Poroshenko, now the country’s main opposition bloc.
In 2014, Parubiy survived an earlier assassination attempt when a grenade thrown at him failed to detonate nearby.
Russia Reacts
Russian media outlets reacted to the killing with open hostility toward Parubiy, describing him as an “active supporter of Ukrainian nationalists.”
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, vowed to track down those responsible. Law enforcement confirmed that at least seven shell casings were recovered at the scene.
