About a day and a half after the assassination of Member of Parliament Andriy Parubiy, law enforcement detained the suspect in Khmelnytskyi region, reports Baltimore Chronicle, citing TCH.ua. According to authorities, the crime was meticulously planned, and the attacker disguised himself as a courier, firing eight shots at the MP.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko stated that the suspect studied the politician’s movements, planned a route, and devised an escape plan. Within 24 hours after the killing, police tracked a direct lead, and 36 hours later, the suspect was apprehended.
National Police Chief Ivan Vyhivskyi reported that the suspect shot Parubiy eight times in the Frankivskyi district of Lviv while disguised as a courier, ensuring his victim was dead, and then tried to conceal evidence of the crime. Lviv Regional Prosecutor Mykola Meret added that the suspect burned his clothing and attempted to drown a bicycle in the forest.
The suspect was identified as 52-year-old Lviv resident Mykhailo Viktorovych Stelnikov. He was twice married and engaged in business for over 19 years, including household appliance repairs. In 2003, he opened his own private entrepreneur (FOP) business, which operated until 2022. The Ministry of Justice’s enforcement system recorded several proceedings related to unpaid taxes. In social networks, he previously went by the name “Alexander Pushkin.”
During interrogation, Stelnikov spoke about contacts with Russian representatives, whom he approached while searching for his missing son, a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on the Bakhmut direction in 2023. The Russians allegedly provided unverified information about his son’s death and instructed him to kill Parubiy. The suspect obtained weapons, purchased equipment, and followed the politician. Investigators are verifying whether Stelnikov was blackmailed regarding his son’s whereabouts.
During the court hearing, Stelnikov admitted his guilt and stated that the killing of Parubiy was an act of revenge against the Ukrainian authorities. He emphasized that his son is considered missing in action and expressed a wish for an exchange of prisoners to locate his son’s body. Spokeswoman of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade Iryna Rybakova confirmed that Mykhailo-Viktor Stelnikov served in the 3rd Mechanized Battalion reconnaissance unit, died in May 2023 near Bakhmut, and is officially listed as missing in action.
Stelnikov’s first wife accused him not only of Parubiy’s murder but also of a symbolic “killing” of their son, calling his actions a repeated tragedy for the family.
Mykhailo Stelnikov was charged with intentional murder (Part 1, Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and illegal possession of weapons (Part 1, Article 263). The court ordered him to be held in custody for 60 days without bail. Later, the case was reclassified under Article 263 and Article 112 of the Criminal Code. He faces imprisonment from 10–15 years or life.
Earlier we wrote about Lviv holds farewell for Andriy Parubiy: burial at Lychakiv Cemetery.