Mykhaylo Stselnikov in court in Lviv, western Ukraine, 2 September 2025. Photo: Suspilne

A court in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has charged the suspected assassin of the former chairman of the Ukrainian parliament with murder, the country’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported on Tuesday.

Mykhaylo Stselnikov, who was arrested in western Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi region on Sunday just a day after Andriy Parubiy was shot dead in broad daylight while walking down the street in Lviv, confessed to committing the murder during his court hearing.

"Yes, it was me who killed him, he was nearby. Had I lived in Vinnytsia, it would have been Petya,” Stselnikov said, referring to former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who represents the western Ukrainian city in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament.

“I want to be convicted as quickly as possible and then swapped in a prisoner exchange so that I can go to Russia to look for my son’s body,” Stselnikov continued, stressing that Parubiy’s murder had been his “personal revenge against the Ukrainian authorities”, following the death of his son while fighting for the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the invading Russian military. Stselnikov has denied having any connection to the Russian security services.

Parubiy was assassinated on Saturday morning. The assassin, who was carrying a Glovo delivery service bag, shot him eight times at point blank range before making his escape on an electric bike.

Parubiy was one of the organisers of the 2014 Euromaidan protests against then-president Viktor Yanukovych, and headed the Maidan Self-Defence Unit formed at the height of the demonstrations.

After Yanukovych fled to Russia, Parubiy was appointed secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, a position he held for several months. He later served as chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, from 2016 to 2019, and remained a member of the body until his death.