Controversial philologist

Prominent Ukrainian woman shot in the head

Iryna Farion had fought against the Russian language in Ukraine with radical statements.(Bild: APA/AFP/Yuriy Dyachyshyn)

The right-wing nationalist former Ukrainian member of parliament Iryna Farion, known for her anti-Russian statements, was shot in the head in the west of the country. The 60-year-old succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in Lviv (Lviv).

Police and intelligence officers are searching for the perpetrator, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

Farion had mainly fought against the Russian language, which is widespread in Ukraine, with radical statements. Her right-wing nationalist party Svoboda therefore suspects a Russian trail in the murder case.

The graduate philologist taught Ukrainian.(Bild: APA/AFP/Yuriy Dyachyshyn)

Selensky condemns attack
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack on Farion and instructed Interior Minister Klymenko and secret service chief Vasyl Malyuk to investigate the crime. Those responsible must be held accountable, said the head of state. Farion was critically injured by a shot to the temple outside her home on Friday evening. In hospital, doctors fought for her life without success.

Interior Minister Klymenko sees a connection between the murder and Farion's social activities. "The basic versions that are currently being considered are personal hostility, social and political activities of Ms. Farion. We do not rule out the possibility that it was a contract killing," the minister wrote on Telegram. He also did not rule out a Russian lead.

Job lost
Farion was also in trouble with the Ukrainian judiciary for statements directed against the Russian-speaking population. Following protests by students, for example, she temporarily lost her job at the university where the philology graduate taught Ukrainian. Among other things, the professor had sharply criticized the fact that many Ukrainian soldiers at the front continued to speak their native language, Russian. According to her own statements, she also bought drones herself for the fight against the Russian war of aggression.

Farion was often criticized for having divided Ukrainian society. Russian state propaganda, however, greeted the news of the politician's death with satisfaction. "Iryna Farion, who dreamed of the 'complete elimination' of the Russian-speaking population, has been eliminated. God will sort things out there without us," wrote Margarita Simonjan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state television channel RT.