According to those sources, the suspect said during initial questioning that he first reached out to Russians while searching for his son, a member of Ukraine’s Armed Forces who went missing in battle. The suspect, a 52-year-old Lviv resident whose name has not been released, learned in 2023 from his son’s fellow soldiers that the young man had disappeared near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. Desperate for information, he began scanning Russian social networks.
He told interrogators that the contacts convinced him his son was dead. The Russians, he said, defended Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and blamed Kyiv’s leadership for “provoking” the war.
The suspect also said he provided information about Parubiy—who, like the suspect, lived in Lviv—and “had seen him repeatedly” in the city. Over ensuing months, he began planning the killing. He obtained a firearm, bought an electric bicycle and helmet, and used counterfeit documents to purchase a car that he used to track Parubiy’s movements. Authorities are now working to verify these details.
On Aug. 30, police reported a shooting in Lviv around noon that killed Andriy Parubiy. Journalist Vitaliy Glagola stated that the shooter, disguised as a Glovo delivery courier, hid the pistol in a bag after the attack. The assailant, wearing a black helmet, fled on an electric bicycle. The suspect was detained shortly after midnight on Sep. 1.