Andrii Parubi had a speech impediment. During his time as Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (2016-2019), he was criticized and often mocked for his speech. His political rivals mockingly imitated him. The reason was that he suffered from mild dysarthria (a difficulty in articulating speech, often due to neurological causes), which made his speeches somewhat slow and clumsy compared to other deputies. He didn't find these jokes funny at all. It's not easy to react... My daughter runs up to me and says, 'Dad, they're laughing at you on TV again,' Parubi told a Ukrainian TV channel.
Parubi defended himself firmly, responding that what mattered was his political and patriotic record, not the tone of his voice. In fact, he never hid this difficulty and maintained his role as Speaker of the Rada at key moments. His voice was the one that resonated when the most important laws of modern Ukraine were passed: the adoption of laws related to integration with the EU and NATO and the protection of the Ukrainian language from Russian.
Parubi's murder occurred around noon this Saturday in Lviv, the main city in western Ukraine. Parubi was walking down a street in the Sykhivskyi district, according to police. In the video they released, he and a man are seen getting off an electric bicycle and shooting him at point-blank range several times, between five and eight times according to witnesses. The killer was wearing a food delivery uniform (including a distinctive yellow bag, like those used by Glovo-type services) to avoid detection.
Parubi played a central and decisive role in the Euromaidan (Revolution of Dignity, 2014). His importance can be explained on several levels: Parubi was appointed the main coordinator of self-defense in kyiv's Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). He organized and led the so-called sotni (centuries) on the ground, volunteer units tasked with maintaining internal order in the camp and resisting assaults by riot police or Berkut, an organ serving then-President Viktor Yanukovych, responsible for the deaths of more than 100 protesters from shots fired from the heights of the neighboring Hotel Ukraine.
These units, led by Parubi, not only defended the barricades but also established patrols, checkpoints, and an internal security system, in a situation bordering on popular insurrection. For many experts, the movement would likely have been dismantled if it hadn't been for their organizing role amid the chaos of those days.
The murder of Parubi, whoever the perpetrator, carries a great symbolic weight. He is not only a high-profile Ukrainian nationalist politician, but also an activist who worked to present the self-defense movement as a disciplined force, not an uncontrolled militia facing state repression. His prestige after Euromaidan catapulted him to power: in February 2014, he was appointed secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, a strategic position in the midst of the Russian invasion of Crimea and the war in Donbas. In 2016, he became Speaker of the Rada.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asserted that the crime was unfortunately carefully planned. He also promised in his daily address to the nation that everything is being done to solve the problem. Andrii Parubi, a deputy, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. Some Ukrainian leaders have suggested that Russia may be involved in the murder. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said on Telegram that the deputy had been killed by enemy bullets.
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recalled:"Together we crossed the Maidan, survived the most difficult years of the war, and affirmed Ukraine's statehood. Their courage, sacrifice, and devotion to our country will remain in the hearts of Ukraine," he said.
