Making Ukrainian History: How Colleagues and Friends of Andriy Parubiy Comment on His Death

Colleagues of Andriy Parubiy from the European Solidarity faction share memories of a true patriot, one of the leaders of the Maidan Self-Defense.

“It was as if a piece of our souls had been torn out. We met in 2004 on the Orange Maidan, perhaps even earlier, but our friendship began consciously in those turbulent and bright times. Andrey was a bright person. And uncompromising. He was ready to die for Ukraine. He died for it, he died for it. statist. Together we went through the government and the opposition.

“In my head there are flashes of memories with Andrey. There are many of them… The Kharkov agreements, he throws a saber at the presidium to stop the betrayal of Ukraine and the war. We understood that the extension of the Black Sea fleet means a creeping intervention of Russia. Language Maidan. Russian. The law on the Ukrainian language would not have been possible without his leadership.

“He was well versed in Ukrainian history and all the time, especially in recent years, after 22, he never tired of repeating to us that the historical mission of our generation is the preservation of Ukrainian statehood. We have no right to repeat the mistakes of the last century, when the strife of political elites led to the loss of the Ukrainian chance to become a State,” the deputy writes.

“Andrey was a very deep person. We were all lucky to have such a friend. Sometimes we argued. But we never fought… He was a strong person, but he was deeply hurt by primitive, sensitive “jokes” and “parodies” of insignificant low-grade “jokers”. Let the fifth column of the Kremlin grow in their companies today. That’s why he was killed,” Gerashchenko is convinced. “Now we are all receiving a barrage of calls from international partners, politicians, government officials who knew Andrey. They are all shocked. Andrey, we all loved and respected you very much, you know that. It was an honor to work with you, Friend. Sorry that we did not protect you,” Gerashchenko writes.

“Andriy Parubiy was killed. This news is simply unbelievable. He was killed at home, in Lviv, brazenly and insidiously. One of the best sons of Ukraine was killed, whose mission and calling throughout his life was to serve the state. This is what he did tirelessly, often quietly and selflessly, in the most difficult times,” – without fear.

“I had the honor of knowing Andrey since 1989. Together we have gone through a difficult path. Together we were on the Maidan, together we wrote and adopted such important post-revolutionary laws. The law on languages alone is worth something! An old father, a friend, a brother, a teacher, a statesman. Ukraine loses its best every day!

“In one of his last great interviews (on my YouTube channel), Andriy Parubiy recalled the Language Square as a prelude to the Revolution of Dignity, and the umbrellas of the Party of Regions over Lytvyn, when Parubiy was being strangled right in the presidium, and the laws of Maundy Thursday and quotas for radio and television, and the joy of Knyazhitsky.

“About everything that changed Ukraine because of pain, fear and blood. The interview formed the basis of the film “The Language of Freedom: The Law That Changed Ukraine”. The screenwriter Oleg Manchura and I prepared it for the anniversary of the adoption of the law on language, and the speaker of the parliament of the VIII convocation, who was from the law, from some keys, from which it was adopted, – Andriy Parub, whom Putin now so persistently demands, would not have existed,” notes Knyazhitsky.

“I can’t believe that this is true… Inhumans killed a colleague from the faction, brothers in all revolutions and in every battle for Ukraine, a sincere patriot Andriy Parubiy. We have known each other for so long and have gone through such a rich path side by side that we have become more than colleagues or friends.” Ionova.

“The murder of such a patriot and highly moral person is an act of terror that can only benefit the enemies of Ukraine. Law enforcement officers must find the culprits as soon as possible – this is a matter of honor for the state,” Ionova notes.

“I started writing these lines five times – and crossed them out five times. Because how can words fit 11 years of a common journey? Since that cool evening in November 2013, when Andrey was the first to go to Maidan and stayed there… He lived Maidan. He prepared those Maidan self-defense units that finally thought they could easily seize Donbass. From Maidan we came together to the National Security and Defense Council, where Klyuev’s furniture was still standing. One of the first decisions was to sell all the Lexuses and jeeps and give the money to the budget.

“Of course, when the full-scale invasion began, Andrey was with those volunteers who came to defend Kyiv. In the 206th battalion, he went to positions and was on duty with everyone else. In the trenches. In this photo from early March, Andrey just returned from such a duty. The guys at night in those cold trenches, and how Ukrainian history is being made before our eyes again…”, recalls Syumar.

“When the Russians left the Kiev region, he believed that we had succeeded in the main thing – not to lose the state. He was completely captivated by the heroism of the Ukrainian people, who this time were able to… And he was very optimistic about our common Ukrainian future… In fact, this was our last very recent conversation with him, when he once again told me to be guided by… Only the death of a person very often sheds light on how this person lived his modern Ukrainian history much more than was visible on the pages of the Russians. They warned about the “execution lists” on which his name was, but the state of Ukraine in the person of the authorities did not provide him with state protection.

People’s Deputy Sofia Fedina published the last post of Andriy Parubiy on the occasion of Independence Day.

“I just realized that I don’t have any photos of me with Andriy Parubiy… because every time we were together, there was no time for photos: on the Orange Maidan, on the barricades of the Revolution of Dignity, in numerous courts or at the Actions on Red Lines… and at checkpoints and whoever is going. Native, real, unwavering, humane… A fighter for Ukraine in ALL understandings of the word.

“I can’t recover. Andriy Parubiy was a man of honor. They took revenge on him for his language, faith, army, square, EU, NATO, Tomos… The murder of Andriy Parubiy is a threat to every patriot. NATO. Andriy Parubiy fought against Moscow influences at a time when we were still a people, not a nation.

“In 1989, Andriy Parubiy was arrested for organizing an unauthorized rally. In the early 90s, he was brutally beaten and almost maimed by “municipals” for his patriotic activities. In 1990, he was elected as a deputy of the Lviv Regional Council. In 1996-1999, he was the head of the nationalist youth organization – the “Heritage” Society. In 2004, he was an active participant in the Orange Revolution and commandant of the Ukrainian House.

“In 2010, Andriy was an active opponent of the Kharkiv agreements and was not afraid to throw smoke bombs and eggs at Lytvyn in the parliament hall, for which Yanukovych wanted to remove his parliamentary immunity. It was Andriy Parubiy who initiated the disruption of the consideration of the scandalous language law in 2012. He was the commandant of the Maidan Self-Defense. In the position of speaker, he pursued the European and Euro-Atlantic course of Ukraine.

“They want to intimidate us with such an unprincipled murder in broad daylight. But they will get the opposite result. In the name of the memory of Andriy Parubiy, we will stand even stronger on our principles,” Fedina writes.

Let us recall that on August 30 , public and political figure Andriy Parubiy was killed in Lviv .

It later became known that a shooter who killed the current member of parliament from European Solidarity and former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy is being sought in the Lviv region . A photo of the alleged killer is being published online.

Later, journalists reported that deputy Andriy Parubiy was shot 8 times by a man disguised as a courier.

By the way, a video of the moment of the murder of the people’s deputy from European Solidarity and former speaker of parliament Andriy Parubiy appeared on social networks.

It is worth noting that a special operation called Siren was announced in Lviv to search for the killer of the people’s deputy , former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy.