The former speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Andriy Parubiy, has been shot dead in the western city of Lviv on Saturday, government officials said.
Unverified video footage shows a gunman dressed as a courier approaching Parubiy on the street. He then shoots him and walks away, holding the weapon in his hand.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as a “horrific murder” and offered his condolences to the family of the slain former speaker.
Parubiy was 54. He led a popular uprising in 2014 to bring closer ties with the European Union and topple Ukraine’s then-pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
Ukrainian authorities have launched a special operation called “Siren” to find the suspected attacker of Parubi. In a statement, President Zelensky said that all necessary forces and tactics have been deployed.
Ukrainian prosecutors said that the attacker fired several shots at Parubi, killing the politician on the spot.
At a press conference later in the day, Lviv police chief Oleksandr Sliakhovsky said that Parubi was shot eight times. The attack was planned very carefully.
Describing Parubi as “a patriot and statesman,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha said that he had made a great contribution to “defending the freedom, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.” Sibiha said that he (Parubi) was a man who deservedly found his place in the history books.
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Parubiy’s killing was a “shot into the heart of Ukraine.”
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