Ukrainian police shot and killed a man on Saturday (April 18) after he allegedly opened fire on pedestrians in a Kyiv district, killed multiple people, and later barricaded himself inside a supermarket where he took hostages in a deadly incident that left six people dead.
Authorities said the suspect also held several people hostage inside the store before refusing to negotiate with police. Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed the incident is being investigated as a terrorist act.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly address, said the shooting took place in the Holosiivskyi district and left 14 people injured, including a 12-year-old boy. He confirmed that one hostage was killed inside the supermarket.
“He took hostages, and unfortunately, one of them was killed,” Zelenskyy said. “Four people died simply on the street. One woman died in the hospital after being seriously wounded.”
Emergency footage from the scene showed rescue teams evacuating victims, with at least one body being loaded into an ambulance. An armoured police vehicle was also seen stationed outside the supermarket during the siege.
Unofficial reports circulating on Telegram claimed witnesses saw the suspect moving along a street and shooting people at close range without warning before entering the store.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed the suspect was killed during the police operation. He said special forces stormed the supermarket after failed negotiation attempts lasting around 40 minutes. Officers reportedly tried to persuade the suspect to surrender, but he continued firing, including at police.
Klymenko added that the attacker had a registered firearm and had obtained medical clearance to possess it. Prosecutors identified the suspect as a 58-year-old native of Moscow with a prior criminal record.
Authorities said he had also allegedly set fire to his registered apartment before carrying out the attack. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko stated that the suspect was armed with an automatic weapon during the rampage.
Ukraine has described the incident as extremely rare, with such mass shootings and hostage situations seldom occurring in the country. Investigations into the motive and full sequence of events are ongoing.
