Andrey Parubiy. Photo: Andriy Parubiy / X 

Andriy Parubiy, the former chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has been shot dead in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported on Saturday morning.

The Ukrainian National Police initially announced the assassination of a public and political figure in Lviv on Saturday morning, though Parubiy was not named at first.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky subsequently confirmed the assassination on X, writing that “Andriy Parubiy was killed. My condolences to his family and loved ones. All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer.”

Sources told Ukrainian journalist and TV presenter Vitaliy Hlahola that the assassination was carried out by a man on an electric bike carrying a courier bag belonging to the Glovo food delivery service. The man allegedly shot Parubiy eight times before putting the gun in the bag and making his escape.

Parubiy served as the chair of the Verkhovna Rada from April 2016 to August 2019. Having served in a number of parties in a political career spanning over two decades, he was most recently a member of the centre-right European Solidarity Party, led by former president Petro Poroshenko.