The man suspected of murdering lawmaker and professor Iryna Farion could be involved in the Russian neo-Nazi movement, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies announced during a press briefing on July 26.
An unidentified man opened fire on Farion, 60, on the street outside her home in Lviv on the evening of July 19. She underwent an operation but was pronounced dead later that night.
On July 25, the suspect in the murder of Farion was detained in Dnipro, a city in central-eastern Ukraine, nearly 1,000 kilometers away from Lviv. According to the investigation, the suspect is an 18-year-old resident of Dnipro, Viacheslav Zinchenko.
Apart from potential involvement in the Russian neo-Nazi movement, law enforcement services are also currently investigating the suspect's contacts in Ukraine and the motives for the crime.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko added that the investigation does not rule out personal animosity toward Farion as a potential motive.
Kate Tsurkan
Zinchenko's phone contained a digital book titled "Secret Instructions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Committee for State Security on Fact-Gathering, Conspiracy and Disinformation," according to law enforcement.
The suspect's search history on his devices also included the names of other politicians and deputies and the schedule of the regional council meeting.
Law enforcement officials said that the suspect was interested in them after returning to Dnipro, which could potentially mean he could be preparing for another crime.
Zinchenko also prepared a farewell letter in which he asked to explain to his father that he "hid everything from him for his safety, not because he did not trust him."
On July 24, a video allegedly capturing Farion's murder started spreading on Russian social media.
The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Readovka claimed that the NS/WP (National-Socialism/White Power) group had taken responsibility for Farion's murder. Readovka also described the NS/WP as "neo-Nazi."
The Ukrainian police were examining the claims published on Russian social media, a police spokesperson told the media on the next day.
Law enforcement agencies previously said they do not rule out the involvement of Russian actors in the murder of the former lawmaker and linguist.
Farion was a linguistics professor who previously served in the parliament for the nationalist Svoboda party. She was considered a controversial figure in Ukraine, among other reasons, due to her incendiary statements on the use of the Russian language.
Abbey Fenbert
