Farion's murder case reclassified: suspect faces life in prison

Law enforcement officials reclassified the case of the murder of public activist Iryna Farion as murder of a person in connection with the performance of her public duty on the grounds of national intolerance and illegal handling of weapons. Now the suspect Vyacheslav Zinchenko faces life imprisonment. UNN reports this with reference to the National Police. 

Investigators of the Department for Investigation of Crimes Against Life and Health of the Lviv Police Investigation Department, under the procedural guidance of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor's Office, changed the classification of the crime and on December 25 sent an indictment to court under the following articles:

- Part 1 of Art. 263 (Illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives) 

-  Article 115(2)(8), (14) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional murder of a person in connection with the performance of a public duty on the grounds of national intolerance). 

According to the police, in 2022, the suspect in the murder of  Farion, an 18-year-old resident of the city of Dnipro, 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, the National Police said. 

"During his time 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 attacker, her actions split the national unity, and therefore he had an intention to kill the public figure," the National Police said in a statement. 

It is noted that the defendant carefully prepared for the crime - he collected confidential information about the victim's place of residence and work, followed him, and developed a detailed plan for his murder and purchased firearms. 

Add 

Earlier, he was charged with the premeditated murder of a public figure, MP of the VII convocation, Iryna Farion (part 1 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Addendum

The man was detained in Dnipro at his place of residence in July this year and has been in custody since then. On December 5 , the Lviv Court of Appeal upheld the preventive measure for Vyacheslav Zinchenko, who is suspected of killing Irina Farion.