A man accused of murdering a pro-Western Ukrainian politician admitted on Tuesday that he carried out the killing but denied working for Russia, describing the attack as "personal revenge".
Mykhailo Stselnikov, 52, was arrested late on Sunday after allegedly shooting former Ukrainian parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy the day before in the western city of Lviv.
"This is my personal revenge against the Ukrainian authorities," Stselnikov told reporters in a video published by Ukrainian news outlets.
"Yes. I admit that I killed him," he said.
When asked whether he worked directly with Russian special services, he replied: "No".
'Carefully planned'
Ukrainian police claimed on Monday that Russia was linked to the crime, which had been "carefully planned".
"We know that this crime was not accidental. There is Russian involvement. Everyone will be held accountable before the law," police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi said on Facebook.
Video appeared to show the assailant, dressed as a courier driver, shoot Parubiy multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Parubiy, a former parliament speaker, was a leading figure in the country's pro-European protest movements of 2004 and 2014.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the murder as "horrific".
Since Russia started its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022, both sides have accused each other of planning and carrying out assassinations of key political and military figures.
Russian state media said Parubiy has been wanted by Russian authorities since 2023.
