Terrorist attack in Kyiv: investigation has established the timeline and new details about the attacker
Law enforcement officers have reconstructed the events surrounding the mass shooting in Kyiv, which left seven people dead. An investigation into the motives and circumstances of the crime is ongoing.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
"The man is a native of Moscow, born in 1968, a military pensioner. Between 1992 and 2005, he served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in various roles related to vehicle maintenance. He is a retired major. After the start of the Russian aggression, he moved to Kyiv from Bakhmut," the statement reads.
Kravchenko noted that, despite the man having been subject to criminal proceedings, he owned two registered carbines and a non-lethal pistol. The attacker obtained his most recent firearms licence on the basis of a purported press card issued by a civil society organisation.
"The circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the firearms licence are currently being investigated by the SSU," Kravchenko emphasised.
The attack was premeditated
"An analysis of the contents of his mobile phone revealed systematic preparation for a mass shooting. In the video, he practised his shooting skills and accompanied this with aggressive monologues," said the Prosecutor General.
Furthermore, the man accompanied his actions with aggressive monologues: he called people "pigs" whom he "would slaughter", used hate speech against Ukrainians, shouted Nazi salutes and incited ideologically motivated violence.
"The perpetrator showed particular hostility towards a neighbour, whom he contemptuously referred to as 'the director of the sixth'. It was he who was the first victim of the attack," added Kravchenko.
Chronology of events
The "trigger" for the tragedy on 18 April was yet another dispute over the intercom, which the killer had repaired himself, but after which some residents were unable to enter the building.
During the altercation outside the entrance, the attacker initially opened fire with a non-lethal weapon, wounding several people. When he ran out of ammunition, he discarded the pistol, went up to his flat, retrieved a firearm, and set the flat alight.
The gunman then carried out a series of attacks – near the building, on the street and in a supermarket.
"Near the building, the gunman killed a neighbour and a taxi driver. He also wounded the son of the first victim, his wife, her sister and a caretaker who shielded the child with his body. The sister and the caretaker later died from their fatal injuries," said Kravchenko.
The perpetrator recorded his actions on audio. After the first killings, the man, moving towards the supermarket, continued to fire and shot two more people. At the same time, he selectively warned individual passers-by to run away, "because there’s going to be shooting now".
Inside the shop, the attacker walked between the aisles, threatened people with a weapon and shot an employee. In addition, five other people were injured in the shop.
Having barricaded himself in with the hostages, he demanded that a female employee of the currency exchange office immediately leave the till and call a representative for negotiations. The man threatened to shoot through the door and kill the woman if she refused. He was not interested in the money, shouting: "Get out of the till, I won’t take your dollars."
The man justified all his actions as "self-defence" against an alleged group attack by four people near the entrance, claiming that "a bunch of young lads and women had pounced on him". He appealed to his military experience and rank of major, declaring that he "couldn’t take it any more". At the same time, he displayed extreme cynicism, commenting on the murder of his neighbour: "He’s already a corpse; his brains are spilling out."
The attacker was killed during a raid by a special forces unit.
Victims of the terrorist attack and the attacker’s links to Russian intelligence services
Seven people were killed in the attack. Seven victims remain in hospital.
The investigation has examined the theory regarding the attacker’s possible links to Russian intelligence services. No such links have been established at this stage.
Final conclusions regarding the shooter’s motives, mental state and sanity at the time of the crime will be drawn after the completion of post-mortem forensic psychological and psychiatric examinations.
The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by SSU investigators under the procedural supervision of the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
