No instigators or accomplices have been identified over the course of the investigation and trial of Viacheslav Zinchenko, who has already received a life sentence for the murder of linguist and civic activist Iryna Farion, Deputy National Police Chief Andrii Nebytov said.
Speaking on the National Telethon Friday, when asked what had been done to identify any accomplices or instigators of the murder, Nebytov said: "The National Police, the prosecutor's office and the Security Service of Ukraine worked on this over the past two years, for as long as this investigation [into Zinchenko specifically - IFU] has been ongoing. At this time, no instigators or accomplices have been identified."
Nebytov added: "So, as the court also found, Zinchenko acted on his own initiative, out of personal convictions, including hostility toward Iryna Farion's civic activity."
The deputy police chief said 92 forensic examinations were conducted, more than 1,500 people were questioned, and dozens of gigabytes of footage from hundreds of surveillance cameras were processed.
Nebytov noted that refusing to admit guilt is Zinchenko's right, which the court did not take into account; rather, based on the totality of the compelling evidence, it ruled on the defendant's guilt in committing the crime.
On July 19, 2024, prominent linguist and civic activist Iryna Farion was shot in the head near her home in Lviv and seriously wounded. She died in the hospital that same evening.
On July 25, 2024, law enforcement officers detained a suspect in Dnipro - 18-year-old local resident Viacheslav Zinchenko. According to the investigation, he had carefully prepared for the crime, renting several apartments in Lviv and tracking his victim. Zinchenko was charged with premeditated murder committed in connection with the victim's performance of a civic duty and motivated by ethnic intolerance, as well as illegal handling of weapons (Clauses 8 and 14, Part 2, Article 115, and Part 1, Article 263 of Ukraine's Criminal Code).
Prosecutors sought a life sentence for him. Zinchenko did not admit guilt. His defense alleged fabrication of evidence and a lack of direct proof.
The case has been heard on its merits since February 2025.
On October 1, the Shevchenkivskyi district court in Lviv found Zinchenko guilty of Farion's murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Following the verdict, the Prosecutor General's Office said: "During the trial, the prosecution proved that the man committed the murder in connection with the victim's performance of a civic duty and out of motives of ethnic intolerance."
"He viewed Iryna Farion, known for her public advocacy for the Ukrainian language and culture, as someone who supposedly 'divided national unity,'" the prosecutor's office statement said.
