Ross David Cutmore arrived in Ukraine in 2024 as a military instructor to help train Ukrainian soldiers. Photo: Ukrainska Pravda
Ukrainian authorities have detained a former British soldier on suspicion that he supplied weapons, allegedly on Russia’s orders, to the killers of former Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Iryna Farion and former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy, both of whom were associated with the anti-Russia, nationalist wing of Ukrainian politics. Information about the UK citizen’s alleged involvement was reported by Ukrainska Pravda, RBC-Ukraine, and The Telegraph.
Sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda said the detained man, Ross David Cutmore, arrived in Ukraine in 2024 as a military instructor to help train Ukrainian soldiers. RBC-Ukraine reported that Cutmore was jointly identified by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and British intelligence.
Cutmore is suspected of importing and distributing weapons in Ukraine from 2024 to 2025, including those that were allegedly used in the killings of Farion and Parubiy. The same weapons supplied by Cutmore were also used to fatally shoot blogger and activist Demyan Hanul, a former member of the Right Sector movement, according to the reports. Cutmore previously served in the British army and took part in military operations in the Middle East.
Parubiy was shot dead on Aug. 30 of this year in Lviv. The gunman was dressed as a courier for the delivery service Glovo. Seven shell casings were found at the scene.
Fariion was attacked in July 2024, also in Lviv. She suffered a gunshot wound to the head and later died in the hospital. An 18-year-old suspect, Vyacheslav Zinchenko, was detained in Dnipro in connection with her killing.