Farion’s murder: the case was reclassified and sent to court
26 December 10:20
Vyacheslav Zinchenko, a defendant in the case of the murder of public figure Iryna Farion, has had his crime classified, and the materials have been sent to court. This was reported by the press service of the National Police, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“The crime classification has been changed for the defendant in the case of the murder of Irina Farion and the materials have been sent to court. Now he is suspected of intentional murder of a person in connection with the performance of a public duty on the grounds of national intolerance, and of illegal handling of weapons,” the statement said.
The police found that the 18-year-old detainee, who was arrested in 2022, became a member of a group that promotes the cult of violence and cruelty, as well as racial, national and religious intolerance and discrimination in one of the messengers. In addition, in 2024, he joined another group affiliated with a Russian neo-Nazi organization.
“During his membership in these groups, the suspect developed a personal dislike for Iryna Farion because of her active position in protecting the Ukrainian language and culture. According to the offender, her actions split the national unity, and therefore he had an intention to kill the public figure,” the police said.
The suspect carefully prepared for the crime – he collected confidential information about the victim’s place of residence and work, followed her, and developed a detailed plan for her murder and purchased firearms.
“The attacker ambushed Iryna Farion on July 19 around 19:20 in the yard of her house on Masaryk Street in Lviv. He approached the victim and made one shot to her head, after which he fled. A few hours later, the public figure died in the hospital as a result of the gunshot wound. on July 25, law enforcement officers located the fugitive and detained him in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in the city of Dnipro,” the police reminded.
Investigators changed the classification of the crime and on December 25 sent an indictment to court under the following articles:
- ч. 1 of Art. 263 (Illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives)
- п. 8, 14, Part 2, Article 115 (Intentional murder of a person in connection with the performance of a public duty on the grounds of national intolerance) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
He faces life imprisonment.
The murder of Iryna Farion and its investigation
on July 19, 2024, a political activist and professor at Lviv Polytechnic, Iryna Farion, was killed by a direct shot to the head on Masaryk Street in Lviv.
Currently, the main suspect in the murder is Vyacheslav Zinchenko, an 18-year-old resident of Dnipro, who has been detained by police and will be held in a pre-trial detention center until at least November 17. The young man has not yet spoken out clearly about his involvement in the murder – he has neither confirmed nor denied it.
Instead, the suspect stated that his arrest was desirable for him, as he was being hunted by Russian special services and radicalized individuals on the loose.
A petition was registered on the government’s website to posthumously award the linguist the title of Hero of Ukraine. The petition has received the required number of votes, and now it is to be considered by the Ministry of Education and Science, whose head Farion called an ignoramus.
