“He got what he deserved”: man accused of killing Parubiy says motive was revenge for his son

The man accused of killing Andriy Parubiy, Mykhailo Stselnikov, told the court that he wanted to take revenge for his son, who had been mobilized and killed at the front.

The statement was made in the courtroom during a scheduled hearing. When asked what specifically Parubiy had done to him, Stselnikov gave a detailed answer.

“He is a representative of the authorities. Our authorities bear no responsibility whatsoever… Something needs to be done so that these authorities are held accountable. A man in power since 2014, five years as chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, practically head of the country. Should he be held responsible for his actions? He should. And so he was,” — Stselnikov said.

According to the defendant, he chose the former Rada speaker as his victim solely because he knew where he lived. Stselnikov also stated that under different circumstances he would have killed someone else — mentioning former president Petro Poroshenko in particular. His courtroom statement suggests that the defendant draws no distinction between Parubiy, Poroshenko, and representatives of the current authorities.

Earlier, Stselnikov confessed to killing Parubiy and denied any cooperation with Russia, describing the act as a personal act of revenge.