The man accused of killing former Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy admitted in court on Tuesday that he committed the murder as an act of revenge against Ukraine's authorities. During a hearing in Lviv, the suspect, identified as Mykhailo Stselnikov, confessed, saying he hoped to be exchanged for prisoners of war so he could travel to Russia and search for his son's body. Stselnikov rejected claims that Russian agents blackmailed him using information about his missing son and said he chose his victim simply because Parubiy "was nearby." He added that if he had lived elsewhere, he might have targeted someone else, mentioning former president Petro Poroshenko by implication.
The case has gripped Ukraine following Parubiy's killing on August 30, a brazen attack on one of the architects of the country's 2014 Euromaidan movement. Ukrainian authorities allege the murder was carefully prepared, with the perpetrator tracking Parubiy's movements and shooting him at least eight times before fleeing. Stselnikov now faces charges of premeditated murder and illegal weapons possession. Law enforcement sources who spoke to the news outlet Strana have cast doubt on media reports that the Russian security services offered Stselnikov his son's body as a quid pro quo for the killing.
According to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Stselnikov's son was a serviceman with Ukraine's armed forces who went missing near Bakhmut in 2023. The father's attempts to learn more about his son's fate reportedly led him to make contact with Russian representatives, who told him his son had died. Stselnikov is being held in custody pending trial.