Suspect arrested in shooting of ex-parliament speaker Parubiy, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced early Monday that a suspect had been arrested over the shooting of former parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy, and had already given an initial statement to investigators.

A statement from the country's interior minister suggested that Saturday's killing had been carefully planned, supporting Zelensky's remarks on Saturday when he said the shooting had been a deliberate plot.

Parubiy, a leading figure in the country's pro-European protest movements of 2004 and 2014, was shot dead in the western city of Lviv.

Zelensky said Internal Affairs Minister Igor Klymenko and security service chief Vasyl Maliuk had informed him of the arrest.

"I thank our law enforcement officers for their prompt and coordinated work," he said.

In a subsequent post, after having spoken to chief prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko, he added: "The suspect has given an initial testimony.

"Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder."

Klymenko, posting on Telegram, said dozens of police officers and security officers had been involved in the operation to arrest the suspect, apprehended in the Khmelnytsky region of western Ukraine.

"There will not be many details now," he added.

"I will only say that the crime was carefully prepared: the schedule of the deceased´s movements was studied, the route was laid, and an escape plan was thought out."

Wanted by Russia

In the wake of Saturday´s shooting, Ukraine´s public broadcaster Suspilne cited anonymous sources saying the shooter had been dressed as a delivery rider and was on an electric bike.

Zelensky had said the shooting was a deliberate plot and had been carefully planned.

Some tributes from Ukrainian officials to Parubiy, who was still a member of parliament, hinted at suspicions of Russian involvement.

Since Russia´s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, both sides have accused each other of assassinations of key political and military figures.

Russian state media said Parubiy has been wanted by Russian authorities since 2023.

Educated as a historian, Parubiy had campaigned for Ukraine´s independence from the Soviet Union as a young man.

He was also a major supporter of the use of the Ukrainian language over Russian -- a highly politicised issue.

During the Maidan protests of 2014, he was a "commander" of opposition self-defence forces.

That same year, Ukrainian media said that he survived an assassination attempt by a grenade.

After the ousting of then-Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia, Parubiy served on the National Security and Defence Council for several months.