Iryna Varion: Former Ukrainian MP and language activist shot dead in Lviv

A former Ukrainian nationalist MP has been shot dead in the street in the western city of Lviv.

Irina Varion sparked controversy in 2023 when she suggested that “true patriots” of Ukraine should not speak Russian under any circumstances.

The killing of the 60-year-old linguistics professor on Friday is being investigated, with police saying it may have been a targeted attack.

The identity of the attacker has not been determined, and police say a power outage affected surveillance cameras in the area.

Lviv region governor Maxim Kozitsky said on Telegram that Ms. Farion died in hospital after the shooting.

“This was not a spontaneous killing,” Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said, and police were looking for a motive.

“We already have several releases. The main releases, as far as I can tell, are: [linked to Farion’s] “I am deeply angered by the social and political activities and personal hatred,” he said in a statement via the Telegram messaging service.

“We do not rule out that the murder was criminal in nature,” he added.

“All stories are being investigated, including the one leading to Russia,” he said.

The ultra-nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party, of which Ms. Farion was a member, directly accused Russia of being responsible for the killing.

“Moscow is shooting at the temple of the Ukrainian language,” she said in a statement.

In 2023, Ms. Farion said that true patriots in Ukraine should not speak Russian anywhere, including on the front lines, because it is the language of the aggressor country.

She described the Russian language as “the language of the enemy that kills me, discriminates against us, humiliates us and rapes us,” adding: “How crazy do you have to be to fight in the Ukrainian army and speak Russian?”

Her words sparked a strong reaction in Ukraine at the time, with people accusing her of stirring up hatred based on linguistic preferences.

She was expelled from a university in western Ukraine and investigated by the Ukrainian Security Service.

Last May, the Lviv Court of Appeal reportedly ruled to reinstate her.