Law enforcement officers are checking the involvement of the suspect in the murder of Iryna Farion in the neo-Nazi movement. This was reported at a briefing by law enforcement officers in Lviv.
The centre of this movement is located in Russia. They are also checking the suspect's connections in Ukraine and the motives for the crime.
‘This is either religious or national hatred,’ the briefing said.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko added that personal animosity was also not ruled out.
A pre-trial restraint will be imposed on the suspect in the Galician court today. His lawyer will be a state lawyer, not a private one.
Before the murder, the suspect told his mother that he was going to another city, but he did not name Lviv. Law enforcement officials believe that the parents knew nothing about the crime.
The weapon used in the shooting was not found.
Klymenko added that, in addition to Farion, the suspect Googled many people, including MP Maksym Buzhanskyy. He chose Farion as his victim as ‘the most defenseless’, the minister said.
The main facts about the murder of Iryna Farion and the suspect
The murder of Iryna Farion took place in Lviv, near her home, on 19 July. The woman died in hospital as a result of a gunshot to the head. On 21 July, law enforcement officers published a photo of the suspect. On 25 July, he was detained in Dnipro.
Slidstvo Info reported that the detainee was a student of the Dnipro State University of Internal Affairs named Vyacheslav. According to Skhemy journalists, the suspect was following the page of a blogger who criticised Farion and spread conspiracy and neo-Nazi views.
The detainee is an 18-year-old resident of Dnipro who travelled to Lviv by train to kill Farion. He rented three apartments there. His phone contained instructions from the CIA and KGB and correspondence criticising the right-wing in Ukraine. Before the murder, the man disguised himself and used different clothes.