Suspect in Parubiy murder expected to change testimony soon — journalist

Journalist, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Ratusha, and Armed Forces veteran Mykola Saveliev expressed this view on Espreso TV.

“We know nothing about Andriy Parubiy’s killer. I tried to find his biography. Apart from the fact that the suspect was registered as a sole proprietor on Kotliarevskyi Street, I found nothing else. Who he is and why he remains unknown is a mystery. I found posts from the deceased ‘Lemberg’s’ classmates saying that he never had a father in his life. And now suddenly there are some tender paternal feelings - not even for the son, but for what’s left of him. I could understand it if the son were in captivity and they were using that to blackmail him,” Saveliev said.

The journalist believes the suspect is trying to invent fake reasons to justify his crime.

“Andriy Parubiy’s killer never cared for his son and now suddenly remembers him. In other words, the Russians promised to give him the remains of his son in exchange for killing the politician. The suspect’s attitude toward all this is far too casual. Today, he is trying to invent fake reasons for Parubiy’s murder. He just needs to be reminded that this crime could bring life imprisonment, not a prisoner swap. I believe that once his lawyer lays out the facts and he realizes there will be no exchange, he will start changing his testimony. Right now, he’s so relaxed, saying he doesn’t want to talk to anyone, etc. Once he understands what awaits him, he’ll be eager to communicate,” he added.

What is known about the murder of Andriy Parubiy

On August 30, around 12:00 in Lviv, former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and MP Andriy Parubiy was shot dead. An unknown attacker, disguised as a delivery service courier, approached Parubiy and fired approximately eight shots. Parubiy suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. The killer managed to flee the crime scene on an electric bicycle, using a Glovo courier disguise.

Less than two days after the murder, law enforcement tracked down the suspect. He was located in the Khmelnytskyi region. Around 1:00 a.m. on September 1, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced that, following a joint operation by the police and the SBU in the Khmelnytskyi region, the likely killer of Andriy Parubiy had been apprehended. On the same day, September 1, he was officially charged with intentional murder.

The day before, the media circulated information about the motive: allegedly, Russian intelligence offered the suspect the body of his missing son in exchange for killing the Ukrainian politician.

On Tuesday, September 2, the Halytskyi District Court in Lviv placed Mykhailo Stselnikov in custody for 60 days without the right to bail. He faces life imprisonment.