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 provided no 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 whether 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 police, Strana.ua reported.
The media outlet also claimed that the suspect, identified 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 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.
Later on Wednesday, Klimenko said the suspect had died in another blast while still inside the court building. “According to preliminary information, he blew himself up,” the minister stated. Two police special forces officers were injured in the incident, he added. The identity of the man responsible for the blasts still has not been officially confirmed.