A loud crack split the air in Lviv, and within seconds, one of Ukraine’s most controversial politicians lay dying on the pavement. Andrey Parubiy — far-right MP, former parliament speaker, and a man who once praised Adolf Hitler as “the greatest man who practiced direct democracy” — was assassinated in broad daylight by a food courier on an electric bicycle.
The gunman fired eight shots before calmly placing the weapon back in his delivery bag and fleeing the scene, leaving stunned witnesses frozen in disbelief. Parubiy, 54, was dead before medical help arrived.
This was no ordinary killing. Parubiy was a political figure who cast a long, divisive shadow over Ukraine’s modern history. A co-founder of the ultra-nationalist Social-National Party of Ukraine, commander of paramilitary groups during the Maidan uprising, and later the speaker of parliament — he had both powerful allies and bitter enemies.
Even in death, his legacy burns with controversy. In 2018, he openly hailed Hitler’s use of “direct democracy,” sparking outrage across Europe. His name was also tied to one of Ukraine’s darkest chapters: the 2014 Odessa Trade Union fire, where dozens of anti-Maidan activists were killed.
Now, with his assassination, Ukraine’s fragile political landscape faces new turmoil. President Vladimir Zelensky has already vowed a full investigation, but as the assassin remains at large, speculation is running wild. Was this a lone act of vengeance, or a deeper power struggle finally boiling over?
Whatever the truth, the daylight murder of a sitting MP — one tied to far-right movements and wartime politics — is a chilling sign of how unstable Ukraine’s internal battles have become.
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