Ukraine arrests suspect in murder of former parliament speaker

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of former speaker of parliament Andriy Parubiy, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

Zelenskyy wrote on the US social media company X’s platform that Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Security Service head Vasyl Maliuk reported the apprehension of the suspect in Parubiy's killing.

He said necessary investigative actions are ongoing and instructed that available information be presented to the public.

"All the circumstances of this horrendous murder must be clarified," Zelenskyy wrote.

In a separate post, Zelenskyy said he spoke with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who reported on procedural steps regarding the suspect.

"The suspect has given an initial testimony," Zelenskyy noted, adding that urgent investigative work is currently underway to identify all the circumstances surrounding the murder.

Zelenskyy announced Saturday that Parubiy was gunned down in the city of Lviv. Ukrainian media reported he was shot eight times and died instantly.

Parubiy began his political career as a lawmaker and served as speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, from 2016 until 2019.

Until his death, he remained politically active as a member of parliament for the European Solidarity party. He also served on the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence.

From February to August 2014, he served as the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.

He played a significant role in the Euromaidan protests and held influential positions in government and security agencies.

Parubiy was a member of the political party and team of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, whom the country's media and experts dubbed "Zelenskyy's main rival and opponent."