Russia-Linked Blackmail Led to Assassination of Former Ukrainian Speaker Andriy Parubiy (Video)

Authorities say suspect was manipulated for a year with false promises about his missing son’s fate.

lVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities have revealed a chilling Russian plot that led to the brazen daylight murder of Andriy Parubiy, a prominent lawmaker and former speaker of Ukraine’s parliament. According to local outlet DROBRO, the suspect, detained just 36 hours after the killing, was coerced by Russian intelligence with a grim ultimatum: information about his missing son’s body in exchange for targeting a high-profile Ukrainian politician.

Parubiy, 54, a key figure in Ukraine’s 2013–2014 Euromaidan protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, was gunned down on August 30 in Lviv. The attacker, disguised as a food delivery courier, fired eight shots from a short-barreled firearm before fleeing on an electric bike. The operation was meticulously planned, with escape routes mapped and three getaway cars prepared, later identified through surveillance footage.

The suspect, a 52-year-old Lviv resident, confessed to the crime. He admitted discarding the weapon and phone in a body of water and burning his clothing in Vynnyky Forest. Sources cited by Ukraine’s Channel 5 and Pryamiy TV said Russian special services had manipulated him for over a year, exploiting his desperation to learn the fate of his son, missing in action during the war. “Russian intelligence offered to reveal the whereabouts of his son’s body if he killed a prominent Ukrainian figure,” a law enforcement source told Channel 5. The suspect reportedly chose Parubiy because he knew where he lived.

The assassination was initially planned for August 23 but delayed. The firearm was reportedly provided directly by Russian operatives. Ukrainian police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi confirmed a “Russian trace” in the killing, noting that the suspect’s testimony clearly points to Moscow’s involvement. The operation, codenamed “Siren”, saw the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and National Police act under the personal oversight of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Parubiy’s death has sent shockwaves through Ukraine. Former President Petro Poroshenko called it “a shot fired at the heart of Ukraine.” As a leading pro-Western voice and fierce advocate for sovereignty, Parubiy was a symbolic target whose murder underscores Russia’s ongoing shadow war against Kyiv.

The case also fits a broader pattern of Russian covert operations abroad — from the attempted assassination of presidential aide Serhiy Shefir in Ukraine to the poisonings of Sergei Skripal in the UK and Alexander Litvinenko in London. Analysts warn Moscow is increasingly resorting to targeted killings to destabilize opponents both inside and outside Ukraine.

The investigation continues, with authorities promising further updates as they unravel the full extent of Russia’s alleged role.

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