Prominent Ukrainian leader Andriy Parubiy shot dead in Lviv

London: An assassin has gunned down a prominent Ukrainian legislator on a suburban street in Lviv, sparking a search for the killer amid growing concern at Russian moves to intensify the war.

Authorities launched a murder investigation for the killer of Andriy Parubiy who died instantly after being shot eight times on Saturday morning (Sunday AEST).

Political leaders praised Parubiy, a former speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, as a leader of the national protests against Russian influence in 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the killing a “horrendous murder” and said all necessary means were being put into the investigation.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko hailed Parubiy for his contribution to the formation of the modern Ukrainian state.

“This is a profound loss for the country. We must find out the circumstances of the death as soon as possible and punish all those responsible,” she said.

European leaders backed Ukraine in public statements about spending more on defence and deterring Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the killing in Lviv highlighted the impasse in the recent talks to end the war.

Parubiy, who was born in the Lviv region, took part in the “Orange Revolution” of 2004 and the “Euromaidan” protests of 2014 against Russian control and in favour of ties with the European Union.

He entered parliament in 2007 and was speaker for three years from 2016. He remained a member of parliament with the European Solidarity Party, aligned with former president Petro Poroshenko.

Poroshenko, who lost office to Zelensky in 2019, said Parubiy had been instrumental in government in modernising the army so it could go to the front with volunteer battalions in 2014 when Russian forces moved into the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

“This crime is not just shots fired at a person. It is a shot at the army. It is a shot at the language. It is a shot at faith. It is a shot at the heart of Ukraine,” Poroshenko said.

Russian forces launched a second large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Friday night local time (Saturday AEST), and explosions were reported in at least six cities. Authorities said 30 people were injured and one person died in Zaporizhzhia.

This followed a wave of hundreds of missiles and drones earlier in the week, killing 22 people including four children.

The past week has also seen intense fighting in eastern Ukraine, with the Associated Press reporting that Russian forces have broken into another region of the country, citing Ukrainian military official Victor Trehubov.

Russian troops entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial centre next to the Donetsk region where fighting has been underway for more than a decade.

The Trump administration approved an arms sale worth $US825 million ($1.3 billion) on Thursday to supply extended-range missiles and other equipment to Ukraine.

The US also imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India on Wednesday to punish the country for buying Russian oil, amid support in Congress for “secondary tariffs” against countries that buy from Russia and thereby support its economy.

Putin has kept up the Russian attacks despite these US measures, while US President Donald Trump is yet to announce any further steps or negotiations to arrange a peace deal after his summit with Putin in Alaska two weeks ago.

The European Union sent a pointed message to the US without naming Trump after a ministerial meeting on Saturday in Copenhagen, as member states prepare to impose more sanctions on Russia.

The EU’s top security and foreign affairs commissioner, former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, said the sanctions would be stronger if matched by “transatlantic” partners.

Kallas also said Russia would lose foreign assets worth €210 billion ($375 billion) – unless it ended the war and compensated Ukraine for the damage done.

“Sanctions work,” she said at a press conference after meeting foreign ministers from EU member states.

“Options include secondary sanctions on those backing Russia’s war, as well as import bans and tariffs on Russian products.”

Kallas also signalled tougher measures against “shadow fleets” – the shipping owners helping Russia export its oil – and said she had asked member states for their proposals next week to maximise pressure on Russia.

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