An 18-year-old man suspected of shooting former Ukrainian deputy Iryna Farion was detained on Thursday in Dnipro in сentral Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Telegram.

Zelensky said that the investigation was still ongoing and the suspect’s identity had not yet been disclosed. Ukrainian police previously published a photo of the individual who was seen sitting near the politician’s home for hours at a time in the two weeks before the assassination attempt. It is unknown whether this is the person who was detained.

“I instructed the Interior Minister to present all details to the public,” Zelensky said. “I am grateful to each and every person who provided more facts … and brought the full truth closer.”

Shortly after Zelensky’s statement, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the detained man was a resident of the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro who had rented at least three apartments in Lviv, in the country’s west, while preparing the attack on Farion, and that the police had found the perpetrator based on his photograph and CCTV footage from the surrounding area. Klymenko added that more details of his arrest would be provided soon.

Zelensky said that the arrest operation was highly challenging, involving hundreds of police officers, the Ukrainian Security Service, and other departments who worked together to solve the murder.

The assailant shot Farion in the head on Friday evening and fled the scene. She died later that day in hospital.

Farion was a nationalist and advocate for the use of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine. She drew criticism in November for saying that she considered Russian-speaking members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be Russian, not Ukrainian.

The Ukrainian police are examining unverified claims that linked Farion’s murder to a Russian neo-Nazi group National-Socialism/White Power (NS/WP), which was reported to be behind the killing by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels. A video was published on a Telegram channel affiliated with NS/WP on 24 July alongside a manifesto that said Farion was a “racial traitor”. The author claimed responsibility for her murder.