The man accused of assassinating Ukrainian politician Andrey Parubiy, the former speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament, has denied any involvement of Russian intelligence in the high-profile murder. Parubiy, a key political figure who played a central role in Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan events and later served as Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada from 2016 to 2019, was gunned down on August 30 while walking in the city of Lvov.
The suspect, identified as 52-year-old Lvov resident Mikhail Stselnikov, appeared in court on Tuesday, where he confessed to the killing. “Yes, I killed him. He was close. If I lived in Vinnytsa, it would have been Petya,” he said, referring to former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a native of that region.
Stselnikov claimed that his actions were motivated by personal revenge rather than geopolitical influence. According to his testimony, his son was killed in 2023 during the fierce battle for Bakhmut, and he blamed Parubiy and other senior figures for decisions that led to his son’s death. While Ukrainian officials initially suggested that Russian intelligence may have played a role, Stselnikov denied being directed by Moscow, stating that although he had contacted Russian Security Services via social media while searching for information about his son, the murder was his own decision.
The suspect also expressed a desire to be sentenced quickly so that he might be included in a future prisoner swap with Russia, where he hopes to locate his son’s remains.
Parubiy, one of Ukraine’s most prominent far-right politicians and co-founder of the Social Nationalist Party in 1991, was a controversial figure. As Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council in 2014, he was accused of ordering the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in the Donbas, and his name has been linked to the May 2, 2014, Odessa Trade Union House tragedy, where dozens of anti-government protesters were killed.
His assassination, carried out with two precise shots—one to the chest and another to the head—has fueled speculation of professional involvement. Nevertheless, the suspect’s courtroom statements point to a deeply personal motive rather than a foreign-orchestrated plot.