At least six people have been confirmed dead and several others injured after a gunman carried out a deadly shooting and hostage-taking incident in Kyiv on Saturday.
According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, the attacker—said to be a local resident—began firing at people on the street in the Holosiivskyi district before moving into a nearby supermarket, where he took several individuals hostage.
Security forces later engaged the gunman in a shoot-out inside the store, during which he was killed. Authorities say his motive remains unknown.
Providing further details, President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed that at least 14 people were injured, including a 12-year-old boy. He added that four victims were killed at the scene, while a woman believed to be in her 30s died later in hospital. One hostage was also killed by the attacker.
Klymenko said police negotiators spent about 40 minutes attempting to de-escalate the situation, describing the suspect as behaving erratically. He noted that the gunman made no demands during the standoff.
“We tried to persuade him, especially as there was an injured person inside,” the minister said, adding that offers to provide medical assistance were ignored. “The decision was made to neutralise him after he killed one of the hostages.”
Officials confirmed that four hostages were rescued following the operation.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, identified the suspect as a 58-year-old man originally from Moscow. He reportedly used a legally registered automatic weapon in the attack.
Authorities have launched an investigation into both the shooting and the circumstances under which the firearm permit was issued.
President Zelensky also revealed that the attacker had lived for an extended period in the Donetsk region—an area heavily impacted by conflict—and had reportedly set fire to his apartment before carrying out the attack.
Although Kyiv has faced repeated strikes amid the ongoing war with Russia, incidents of this nature remain uncommon in the city.
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