A defendant set off an explosive device while attempting to flee custody, Ukrainian media have reported
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A district court in Kiev has been rocked by an explosion, Ukrainian media outlets reported on Wednesday. The Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, adding that police, explosives experts and an investigative group have been deployed to the scene.
“[An] unidentified explosive device was detonated by a man who was brought to a court hearing,” Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said in a Telegram post. He did not provide further details but called on people to stay away from the court building and “let the relevant services do their job effectively.”
It is unclear if the incident caused any casualties, although videos on social media showed ambulances and police cars parked near the court building.
At least five ambulances and several firefighting vehicles were deployed to the scene, which was cordoned off by the police, Strana.ua reported.
The media outlet also claimed that the suspect, named as Igor Gumenyuk, had barricaded himself in the court’s restroom together with two security guards.
Gumenyuk was charged with terrorism after taking part in a rally organized by the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in 2015. At the time, a crowd of nationalists gathered near the office of the Ukrainian parliament – the Verkhovna Rada – in Kiev to protest against amendments to the constitution. The measures would grant special status to the two Donbass republics after they sought independence from Ukraine.
The rally ended with a grenade being thrown at members of the Ukrainian National Guard, killing four soldiers and leaving 140 people injured. Gumenyuk was accused of being behind the attack.
The suspect had served with a Ukrainian ultranationalist “volunteer battalion” between 2014 and 2015, and had been in custody since 2015. He had a loyal group of nationalist followers who considered him to be a “hero,” the UNIAN news agency reported.
