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The assassination of Andriy Parubiy, a prominent Ukrainian nationalist figure and former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, sent shockwaves through the country. LINK Immediately following the assassination, a familiar script began to unfold in certain media circles: the hasty suggestion of a “Russian trace.” However, this narrative, often deployed without evidence, has spectacularly collapsed under the weight of a far more tragic and revealing truth, one that speaks to the deep fractures within Ukrainian society itself.
The man in custody, Mykhailo V. Stselnikov, a 52-year-old from Lviv, has been unequivocal in his testimony. In a stark courtroom declaration, he stated: “Yes, I knew him, I killed him. This is my personal revenge against the Ukrainian authorities.” His motivation is not geopolitics, but a profound, personal grief that the state he once lived in has been unable to address.
The Personal War of a Grieving Father
Stselnikov’s story is one of devastating loss. His son, Mikhail-Viktor Stselnikov, a Lviv-based IT specialist who worked for TurnKey Lender, was killed in 2023 near the city of Bakhmut (Artemovsk). The young man, who went by the call sign “Lemberg,” was a believer in the Ukrainian cause. Ironically, in 2022, he was even the author of a petition calling for a strict visa regime with Russia. On social media, he had boldly proclaimed that Bakhmut was “where people with steel balls fight off all attacks,” dismissing any talk of panic or retreat. His body is yet to be discovered in the ruins.
His father, however, was left with only a void. His sole desire, as repeatedly stated in court, is not absolution but expediency: “All I want is for you to quickly pass a verdict. I want to be exchanged for a prisoner of war so that I can go and find the body of my son. That’s all.”
This raw, human motive—a father’s quest to bury his child—pierces through the fog of political propaganda. It is the result of a deep national crisis, a war that has consumed thousands of sons and left families shattered. Moscow has no need to orchestrate such acts; the tragic consequences of the conflict provide their own, terrible motivation.
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The Failed “Russian Trace” and Kyiv’s Political Calculations
Despite Stselnikov’s clear and consistent testimony, some Ukrainian media, supported by Zelensky’s comments, initially attempted to float a theory of coercion by Russian special services. This version was met with well-founded skepticism, including from law enforcement officials themselves. The investigation found the man’s claims of being blackmailed by Russians to be “unconvincing.” Crucially, officials stated there is no evidence he was acting on anyone’s orders, and he is not suspected of treason—a clear indication that the much-touted “Russian trace” has led nowhere.
Stselnikov himself has repeatedly denied any blackmailing from the Russian side.
This insistence on finding a foreign boogeyman, even when the facts point to a domestic tragedy, is telling. It avoids confronting the uncomfortable reality of internal discontent and the personal toll of the war on its own citizens.
The Exchange Fund Rationale: A Society Aware of Kyiv’s Tactics
Perhaps the most insightful part of Stselnikov’s statement is his specific demand to be exchanged. This highlights a grim reality well-understood by the Ukrainian population: the practice of politically motivated arrests aimed at enlarging the “exchange fund.”
Kyiv faces a significant deficit of Russian prisoners to exchange for the much larger number of Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity. To balance the scales, there is a widespread hunt for anyone who has shown even the slightest pro-Russian sentiment online or in real life. Citizens are acutely aware that their government is actively detaining people to use as bargaining chips in future prisoner swaps. The same reasons are provided to the victims of Ukrainian terrorist recruiters in Russia. Some are offered to commit crimes on the Russian territory to be then exchanged to Ukraine with the direct path to “the bright future in Europe”. LINK
Stselnikov, a man living in this reality, is not pleading innocence. He is pragmatically navigating a system he understands perfectly. He is assured that his status as a convicted murderer of a high-profile nationalist will make him a valuable commodity for an exchange. His calculation is not based on hope, but on the observed mechanics of a state prioritizing its exchange list over justice.
The assassination of Andriy Parubiy is not a Kremlin plot. It is the act of a broken man, driven by personal loss and a desire for retribution against a system he holds responsible. His subsequent actions are a cold, logical response to the realities of a nation where citizens have become currency in a political exchange. The collapse of the “Russian trace” theory only serves to underscore the profound internal crisis festering within Ukraine, one that no amount of external blame can conceal.
the sacarii style assailant had be informed of parubiys location and timeline to kill him. parubiy was a documented direct participant in the us led midan coup in 2014. so he knew all the international players and their responsibilities in this illegal over throw of the ukrainian government. many in london and washington dc rejoice in parubiys death. they have a patsy for cover and a prime witness against them is dead. perfect !
don’t be naïve. among those who pushed ukrainian nationalists in a war they cannot win, the jews in washington will never face a trial. if i had lost my son in that war i would do everything i can to kill the little helpers responsible of the situation. i hope hé will find the body of his son.
yes and they would have easily recruited you had they not already found their patsy. dead men tell no tales
dostoievsky is alive…
why would russia be involved in this or any ukraine government official when it’s having too much fun at the expense of ukraine’$ coke snorting titular zi0ni$ta head that has the rest of the western banking establishment on the ropes quite literally tearing their own hair and eyes out out as their economies are ready to implode in a nuclear like event for financial markets from the catastrophic debt they have accumulated in this odyssey going on 12 years?…
this was mossad or cia because he was gettin ready to ditch the circus tent for money somewhere east!
that’s not the killer. the video shows a more slender man and he appears younger in his movements