Ukraine Arrests 18-Year-Old Man Killing Former Language Expert Member Of Ukraine's Farion Parliament

JAKARTA - Ukrainian law enforcement officials arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of killing former nationalist lawmaker and linguist Iryna Farion last week.

Farion, known for his controversial campaign to protect Ukrainian, was shot dead on the streets of the western part of the city of Lviv last Friday.

"An 18-year-old boy has been arrested and necessary investigative and examinations continue," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said via Telegram.

The suspect was arrested in his hometown of Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine, Home Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said via Telegram.

To prepare for his crime, the suspect rented at least three apartments in Lviv, the minister said.

"Now the investigation tends to believe that the shooter is just a perpetrator," Klymenko said via Telegram, hinting the incident might be planned together with other parties.

"The possible motives and links being investigated include connections to Russia, Farion social activities, or personal hostility to it," Klymenko told national TV.

As a member of the Svoboda ultranationalist party, Farion served at Verkhovna Rada in 2012-2014. He campaigned diligently against Russian-speaking officials.

November 2023, Farion criticized several Ukrainian soldiers who repulsed Russia's massive invasion for still speaking Russian, and said he could not call them Ukrainians. The statement sparked outrage.