Anti-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker shot dead

A former nationalist lawmaker who was a fierce defender of the Ukrainian language has been shot dead in Lviv, western Ukraine, authorities said.

In a message on Telegram, the Ukrainian National Police said Iryna Varion had died of her wounds in hospital after an assassination attempt.

Nowhere safe

“I still insist that there is no safe place in Ukraine,” Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said, denouncing what he called a “shameful assassination” and offering his condolences to the victim’s family.

The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said the attack took place on Friday evening when an unknown assailant shot Varion, seriously wounding her in the head.

“All surveillance cameras have been checked, witnesses have been questioned, and several neighborhoods (of Lviv) have been inspected. All leads, including those leading to Russia, are being analyzed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Suspect spotted

As Interior Minister Igor Klimenko explained in Lviv, the suspect had been monitoring the victim's house for several days.

He confirmed that the surveillance cameras at the scene of the former parliamentarian's assassination were turned off at the time of her murder.

He also noted that investigators are currently focusing on a crime motivated by "personal hatred" related to the victim's activities, but he did not rule out "a planned assassination".

Strong hostility towards Russia

Varion, in her 60th year, is a specialist in languages ​​and linguistics and was a deputy for the nationalist party "Svoboda" between 2012 and 2014.

The former deputy was known for her strong hostility towards Russia and her calls to kill Russians and Russian-speakers and to persecute and insult them everywhere.

Last November, the Ukrainian Security Service opened a criminal case against Varion after her statements hostile to Russian-speaking Ukrainian fighters.