Former Ukrainian far-right MP murdered in Lviv: “All leads are being investigated, including Russia”

In a message on Telegram, the Ukrainian National Police said she had succumbed to her injuries in hospital after being the target of an assassination attempt. 

 

“I always say that no place is safe in Ukraine,” lamented Lviv mayor Andriï Sadovy, denouncing a ‘heinous murder’ and offering his condolences to the victim's relatives. 

 

According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office, the attack took place on Friday evening, at around 7.30pm, when an unidentified individual fired at Irina Farion, seriously wounding her in the head. “All surveillance cameras are being checked, witnesses are being interviewed and several districts (of Lviv) are being examined. All leads are being investigated, including the one leading to Russia”, reacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X on Saturday. 

 

Interior Minister Igor Klimenko told a briefing in Lviv on Friday evening that the suspected killer could have been lurking around Irina Farion's home for several days. 

 

According to him, investigators are currently focusing on the possibility of a murder motivated by a “personal grudge” linked to the victim's activities, but are not ruling out a “commissioned assassination” either. 

 

The 60-year-old language teacher and linguist was a member of parliament for the nationalist Svoboda party between 2012 and 2014.