The former speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Andriy Parubiy has been shot dead in the western city of Lviv, officials have said.
Unverified footage, purportedly of the shooting, appears to show a gunman dressed as a courier approaching Parubiy on the street and holding a weapon as he walks behind him, before fleeing. A huge manhunt is now underway for the suspect.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Saturday's attack as a 'terrible murder' and offered condolences to Parubiy's family.
Parubiy, 54, rose to prominence during Ukraine's Euromaidan mass protests, which advocated closer ties with the EU and brought down pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
A special operation, codenamed Siren, has now been launched by Ukrainian authorities aimed at tracking down and arresting the suspected shooter.
All necessary forces and means are being deployed, Zelensky said in a statement. Ukraine's prosecutors stated, 'an unidentified gunman fired several shots at the politician' and Parubiy 'died on the spot'.
At a news briefing later on Saturday, Lviv police chief Oleksandr Shliakhovskyi mentioned the gunman had fired about eight shots from a firearm, which has not yet been identified. The attack appeared to have been 'very carefully planned'.
Meanwhile, Lviv's chief prosecutor Mykola Meret said all possible motives for the shooting were being investigated, including potential Russian involvement.
Sources in Ukraine's law enforcement agencies reported that seven shell casings were later found at the scene. The source also stated the attacker was dressed to look like a courier for delivery company Glovo. In the video of the incident, the suspect can be seen carrying a yellow delivery bag.
A spokeswoman for Glovo expressed being 'deeply shocked by the brutal crime' and promised full cooperation with the investigation.
Parubiy was a pivotal figure in the Euromaidan movement, which began after Yanukovych's government refused to sign an association agreement with the EU in late 2013. He organized and coordinated Maidan's 'self-defense' forces and was injured during clashes with riot police.
Following Ukraine's turmoil, he became secretary of the National Security and Defence Council during the conflict with Russian-supported separatists. Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, he joined Ukraine's territorial defence and had been a lawmaker in the current parliament.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described Parubiy as 'a patriot and statesman who made an enormous contribution to the defence of Ukraine's freedom, independence and sovereignty'.
Former President Petro Poroshenko remarked that the killing of Parubiy was 'a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine'. '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, highlighting Parubiy's efforts to build the Ukrainian army.
