Police have detained an 18-year-old man from Dnipro, suspected of shooting former Ukrainian deputy Iryna Farion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the news on Telegram on Thursday. Farion was shot in Lviv last week.
Investigation and Arrest
Zelensky stated that the police investigation into Farion’s murder is still ongoing and that the suspect’s identity has not yet been disclosed.
Ukrainian police had previously published a photo of a person seen sitting outside the politician’s home for hours in the two weeks before the assassination, though it is not confirmed if this was the person 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.”
Details of the Suspect
Shortly after Zelensky’s statement, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the suspect is a resident of Dnipro who had rented at least three apartments in Lviv while preparing the attack on Farion.
The police identified the suspect based on his photograph and CCTV footage from the surrounding area.
Zelensky described the operation to detain the suspect as “highly challenging,” adding that it involved hundreds of police officers, the Security Service of Ukraine, and several other agencies working together.
The Assassination
The assailant shot Farion in the head on Friday evening and fled the scene.
She died later that day in the hospital.
Farion was a controversial figure and a nationalist who advocated for the use of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine. She faced 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 linking Farion’s murder to the 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 July 24, along with a manifesto that called Farion a “racial traitor,” with the author also claiming responsibility for her murder.
