KYIV: A former Ukrainian speaker of parliament who was a leading figure in the country’s pro-European protest movements of 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. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned it as a “horrific murder” and said “all necessary forces and means” would be used in the investigation.

“Unfortunately, the crime was carefully planned,” he said on social media. Police are still searching for the shooter.

Prosecutors have opened a murder probe but have not mentioned any possible motives. “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 but their authenticity could not be independently verified.

They showed a man with a bloodied face lying in the street. Some of the 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.

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. Ex-president Petro Poro­shenko, who succeeded Yanukovych, paid tribute to a “brother-in-arms” and said his murder was “a shot at the heart of Ukraine”.

“The enemy will never be able to kill the ideals for which Andriy Parubiy lived and fought,” he said.

Russian strikes

Russia launched “massive” strikes across Ukraine overnight, rescue services said on Saturday, a new blow to peace efforts that drew a fresh appeal from President Volodymyr Zelensky for US and European help.

Despite a recent flurry of international efforts to broker a truce in the three-and-a-half-year conflict, led by US President Donald Trump, there have been no signs of a let-up in fighting on the ground.

Ukrainian rescue services said on Telegram that overnight strikes on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia had killed at least one person and wounded at least 25. Three children aged between nine and 16 were admitted to hospital.

Russia confirmed it had launched overnight attacks, saying they were against “military” targets. Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said residential buildings were hit and scores of homes left without gas or electricity.

The cities of Dnipro and Pavlograd in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk also came under attack early on Sat­u­r­day, causing fires, regional governor Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram, warning residents to take cover.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dnipropetrovsk had been largely spared from intense fighting. Ukraine’s air force said the Russian army had launched 582 drones and missiles overnight, most of which it had downed.

Zelensky, who has been pushing for a peace summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said a total of 14 regions had been targeted overnight.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2025