Andriy Parubiy, a Ukrainian politician and former speaker of the parliament, was shot dead in Lvov, a city in western Ukraine, Ukrainian media reported.

Officials reported that the killer was still on the loose.

"Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs Ihor Klymenko and prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, have just reported the first known circumstances of the horrendous murder in Lviv. Andriy Parubiy was killed," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published on X.

"My condolences to his family and loved ones. All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer," Zelensky added.

Andriy Parubiy, who was 54 years old and a member of parliament, previously served as parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019 and was one of the key leaders of the 2013-14 Western-backed coup that aimed to bring the country closer to the European Union.

Serving as the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council from February to August 2014, he held the position during the period when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.

Last month, in a bold daylight attack that took place in Kiev, Colonel Ivan Voronych, one of the top members of Ukraine's security service, was killed. A few days later, Ukraine's security agency reported it tracked down and killed two citizens it alleged were Russian agents suspected in the murder of Voronych.