Cash flies, windows shatter: Hapless bank robbers try to blow ATM up in Kiev... but overdo it on explosives (PHOTOS)

A brazen bank heist in Ukraine’s capital went awry after raiders tried to blast their way into a cash-laden ATM – but the charge they set was way too powerful and took its toll on the office’s interior... and on the robbers’ loot.

The as-yet unknown culprits had broken into a branch of Ukraine’s state-run Oschadbank, having in their sights an ATM at the front door. They planted explosives on the tamper-proof machine, at which point things went profoundly wrong.

The explosion that rocked Kiev early on Saturday morning was so powerful that it caused the ceiling to collapse and the door and windows to shatter. The ATM itself was torn apart, with multiple banknotes scattered all over the place.

Police believe the robbers had to retreat before they grabbed all the cash they could and made off in an old Volkswagen Passat. It’s still unknown how much money was stolen; officers have recovered CCTV footage from the site and placed additional patrols on roads leading out of Kiev.

Oschadbank’s offices have been targeted by thieves in other cities across Ukraine. Back in September, an ATM was blown up in the city of Kharkiv – that heist turned out to be unfortunate as well, with the perpetrators losing roughly 300,000 hryvnias ($12,500) while making good their escape.

Trying, and failing, to break into ATMs using more intellectual methods appears to be a growing trend among criminals. Last year, it emerged that experienced ATM robbers in Russia reportedly offered training courses for interested parties, in turn receiving a share of the spoils from every successful robbery.

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