Prominent Ukraine politician shot dead in street by gunman reportedly disguised as delivery driver

A former Ukrainian speaker of parliament who was a leading figure in the country’s pro-European protest movements in 2004 and 2014 was shot dead on Saturday in western Ukraine, officials said.

Andriy Parubiy, 54, who also previously served as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, was killed in the city of Lviv. Local media reports say he was shot multiple times by a gunman dressed as a courier on an e-bike, according to CBS News partner BBC News.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned it as a “horrific murder” and said “all necessary forces and means” would be used in the investigation.

Prosecutors have opened a murder probe and said police were still searching for the shooter but have not mentioned possible motives at this stage.

“An unidentified man fired several shots at the politician, killing Andriy Parubiy on the spot,” the prosecutor general’s office said.

Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne cited anonymous sources saying the shooter was dressed as a delivery rider and was on an electric bike.

Photos purporting to show the crime scene were published by Ukrainian media, showing a man with a bloodied face lying in the street.

Some of the tributes to Parubiy from Ukrainian officials hinted at suspicions against Russia.

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

Former President Petro Poroshenko said the killing of Parubiy was “a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine,” BBC News reported.

“Andriy was a great man and a true friend. That is why they take revenge, that is what they are afraid of,” he wrote on Telegram.

Last month, one of Ukraine’s security top service members, Colonel Ivan Voronych,  was killed in a bold daylight attack in Kyiv.  Days later, Ukraine’s security agency said it tracked down and killed two Russian agents suspected of murdering Voronych.

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