Vitaly Saenko, Anastasia Gorbacheva19:55, 07/05/23

Law enforcement officers have already arrived at the scene and are investigating the circumstances of the explosion.

An explosion occurred in the Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv / photo from UNIAN

An explosion was heard in the premises of the court of the Shevchenkovsky district of Kiev  . The police are already on the scene.

“The police received information that there was an explosion in the courtroom in the Shevchenkivskyi district,” the National Police of Ukraine said  on its Telegram channel.

In this regard, an investigative-operational group, special forces, explosives technicians and dog handlers are currently working on the spot.

В Шевченковском суде Киева раздался взрывAn explosion occurred in the Shevchenko court in Kyiv

In turn, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko confirmed that the police had received a message about an explosion in the Shevchenkovsky court in Kyiv. Police investigative teams, special forces, explosives experts and other necessary services arrived at the scene. 

“According to preliminary information, the now unidentified device was blown up by a man who was taken to the court session. Details are being installed. Remain calm and do not approach the scene. Let the relevant services do their job effectively,” the interior minister said in a  statement .

The Kyiv city military administration noted that the incident occurred at 17:20.

“According to preliminary information, the NSU escort servicemen brought an accused person to the premises of the Shevchenkovsky court of the capital, who, due to unspecified circumstances, blew up an unknown explosive device in the court premises (pre-latrine),” the KGVA added .

According to media reports, the explosion was arranged by Igor Gumenyuk, a suspect in the case of a grenade detonation near the walls of the Rada in 2015. He locked himself with two escorts in the toilet of the Shevchenkovsky district court, and also blew up an explosive package.

Updated 19:11. The media reported that another explosion thundered in the Shevchenko court in Kyiv. The special forces allegedly launched an assault.

Updated 19:21 . After a new explosion, a policeman ran out of the building of the Shevchenko court and asked to send an ambulance. The media reported that two people were carried out of the court building on a stretcher.

Police officer in Shevchenkovsky court asked to call doctors after a new explosionPolice officer in Shevchenkovsky court asked to call doctors after a new explosion

Updated 19:28 . After the explosion in the Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kyiv, traffic was blocked in the area of ​​the incident.

“The movement of buses No. 9, 14t, 14tk along Degtyarevskaya St., 31 is delayed. In both directions, the police blocked traffic,” Kyivpastrans said in a Telegram message.

Traffic is organized along the route: Teliha street – Dorogozhitskaya street – Family Khokhlov street – Degtyarevskaya street.

Updated 19:40 . The Office of the Prosecutor General in Telegram reported that under the procedural leadership of the Shevchenko District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, a pre-trial investigation was launched into the attempt to escape the defendant from custody, committed in a way dangerous to the lives of many people (part 2 of article 15, part 2 of article 393 of the Criminal Code Ukraine).

The prosecutor’s office confirmed that the accused, brought to court to participate in the court session, while in the restroom, attempted to escape from custody. In doing so, he used an unidentified explosive device.

“Currently, he has closed himself inside the escort premises. Measures are being taken to detain him. There is information about two victims among law enforcement officers. The data is being specified,” the statement says.

According to media reports, two National Guardsmen from military unit No. 3066 were wounded.

Updated 19:51. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said that the perpetrator died at the scene of the incident in the Shevchenkovsky District Court. 

Explosion near Rada – what is known

Explosions in administrative buildings in Kyiv or near them are quite rare incidents. A similar incident occurred near the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2015. 

On August 31, after the adoption in the first reading of amendments to the Constitution regarding decentralization, clashes began between protesters and law enforcement officers. Aggressive protesters began to storm the Rada building, throwing paving stones and smoke bombs. They also threw a live grenade.

Igor Gumenyuk – what is known about him

In 2014-2015 he served in the Sich battalion. He was a member of the nationalist party “Freedom”.

On August 31, 2015, during the consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of the so-called “law on the special status of Donbass”, which was part of the terms of the Minsk agreements, he threw a grenade of the Russian Geographical Society into the action of the soldiers of the National Guard guarding the parliament building from protesting nationalists. As a result, 4 conscript soldiers of the National Guard were killed, and about 140 people received shrapnel wounds.

Since 2015, Gumenyuk has been in custody in the Lukyanovsky pre-trial detention center in Kyiv. He had an online support group of nationalist activists who perceived him as a hero, patriot and defender of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Throughout Gumenyuk’s stay in the pre-trial detention center, this group collected donations for him on the program.

(C)UNIAN 2023