Farion’s Killer Prepared Disguises, Had Another Victim in His Sights, Interior Minister Says

A briefing was held Friday, July 26, in Lviv by the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko regarding the arrest of the suspect in the murder of Ukrainian ultranationalist Iryna Farion.

According to Klymenko, the 18-year-old male had been preparing the crime for at least 10 days.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs showed a video of the suspect’s detention and interrogation, as well as pictures of the contents of his phone.

The law enforcement prosecutors will ask the court for detention without bail.

“Currently, a report of suspicion has been agreed with respect to the person detained in Dnipro yesterday… prosecutors have submitted to the Halytsky District Court of Lviv a petition to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention without the alternative of posting bail. Prosecutors will insist on such a precautionary measure in court,” Deputy Prosecutor General Anton Voytenko said.

Murder suspect sent himself disguise

According to Klymenko, the suspect had been buying clothes and accessories ordered from Dnipro and different regions of Ukraine and having them sent to Lviv since May of this year.

“We set up requests – from his account on his phone – to the relevant businesses that provided the glasses and, in principle, all the accessories that he received at the Nova Poshta in Dnipro” the minister explained.

The attempt on Farion was probably not a one-off assassination

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Lawmaker Maksym Buzhansky identified another individual – possibly the next target after Iryna Farion – in the suspect’s phone.

Officers reported that the suspect’s phone contained a lot of information about this individual’s philosophy and his relationship to various circles.

“Despite the suspect’s young age, he was thoroughly knowledgeable and prepared. We see many links in his phone, which sites he visited, what he read,” police added.

The murder of Iryna Farion – what’s known so far

Linguist, public figure, and former lawmaker Iryna Farion was shot in the head on July 19 by a person who then fled.

Farion was taken to the hospital in an extremely serious condition, but it was not possible to save her.

On Thursday, July 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced that a suspect had been detained in Dnipro.

Hundreds of specialists of the National Police of Ukraine, SBU and other services have been working together in recent days to solve the murder.