KYIV — A shooter killed six people and injured 14 others in Kyiv before being eliminated by Ukraine’s special forces in a daylight incident on April 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the shooter killed four people on a street in the Holosiyivskiy district before barricading himself inside a local supermarket, where he took a hostage and then killed a fifth person.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the sixth person had died in a hospital was among the people injured in the shooting. According to Klitschko, the injured included a child.
“He shot at point-blank range with single shots. People had almost no chance,” Klymenko said, adding that the shooter acted “very chaotically” and without any pattern.
“We expect a prompt investigation… Four hostages have been rescued,” Zelenskyy wrote shortly after the incident, expressing condolences to the relatives of those killed.
User-generated videos shared on Ukrainian Telegram channels showed shocking images in which the shooter was seen killing a passerby at close range.
One of the servicemen said the operation to detain the shooter was “very difficult,” explaining that the shooter was unwilling to communicate.
Klymenko added that special forces tried to negotiate with him before storming the barricaded supermarket, but were met with gunfire. The man was armed with a carbine legally available for civilian purchase, Klymenko said.
“It was registered…In December 2025, he applied to the permitting authorities for a weapons license. He submitted a medical certificate. The investigation will determine who issued it,” he added.
While the shooter’s motives remain unclear, Ukraine’s General Prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko said he was 58 years old and was born in Moscow. Zelenskyy added that he had also long lived in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
It was later reported by the Ukrainian media that the man had set his apartment on fire before his shooting spree.
According to a neighbor who had known the shooter for about ten years, he lived alone and had almost no contact with other residents. She told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service that he appeared well-mannered and showed no signs of aggression.
