A Russian-born man armed with ‘two bombs, grenades and a machine gun’ is holding around 20 people hostage on a bus after complaining about ‘Ukraine’s system’ in a series of posts online.
Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 250 miles west of Kiev, earlier today after Maxim Krovishey took control of a bus and made a bizarre set of demands.
Children and at least one pregnant woman are among the hostages, according to reports.
Krovishey has spoken by mobile to relatives of those trapped on the bus urging them to call journalists to spread his demands or face the vehicle being blown up.
Anton Herashchenko, deputy interior minister, made clear that the case is being treated as ‘terrorism’.
Ukraine’s premier Denis Shmygal said of the hostages: ‘It is important now to save their lives.’
In his book the hostage-taker wrote: ‘You can kill me, but it will not correct me. I am not afraid. The face of God is in the mirror.’
One photograph showed officers laying on the ground using a car for shelter as they worked to rescue the victims.
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Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 250 miles west of Kiev, earlier today. Pictured, Ukranian law enforcement officers lie on the ground behind a car near the bus
Police officers gather supplies as they head towards the bus where 20 people have been taken hostage by an armed man
The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, officers said in a Facebook statement. Pictured, the man who is believed to be responsible for the hostage situation
The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, officers said in a Facebook statement. He is negotiating with officers over the phone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the assailant took control of the bus at 9.25am local time (7.25am GMT).
A statement from the attacker claimed: ‘There are a lot of people with me – machine guns, grenades, two bombs.’ He said he had an accomplice ‘in a crowded area of the city’.
‘The man put forward his demands to law enforcers,’ said police. ‘Negotiations with him are underway. He is being talked to over the phone.’
His demands appeared absurd, calling on senior Ukrainian officials to post videos saying they are ‘terrorist in laws’.
He also asked Ukrainian president Zelensky to urge people to watch the 2005 movie Earthlings.
Krovishey was born in Russia – then part of the USSR – in 1975. He was convicted of group robbery in 2013 and is believed to have served three jail sentences, the longest for eight years.
Hostages are seen through a windscreen damaged by gunshots, after the passenger bus was seized
Bystanders have started to gather as police officers blocked off the road leading to the bus
The bus remains parked up and hostages can be seen inside after Maxim Krovisheyn, thought to have posted anti-establishment messages online, took it over on Tuesday morning. Shots were fired through the front windscreen
Nicknamed Maxim Bad, the assailant has posted online: ‘What is freedom? Heaven. How to get there? Be a criminal.’ Pictured, the bus, left, and officers crawling behind a car, right
A tank parked up at the scene to block the road following the seizure of the passenger bus
The film chronicles the day-to-day practices of factory farms, research labs and puppy mills, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Nicknamed Maxim Bad, the assailant has posted online: ‘What is freedom? Heaven. How to get there? Be a criminal.’
He previously wrote a book entitled ‘Philosophy of a criminal’.
‘My death is not an obstacle for the explosions,’ he said. ‘The state has always been and is the first terrorist.’
‘Gunshots have been heard, the bus is damaged,’ Zelensky said in a Facebook statement, adding that measures are being taken to resolve the situation without casualties.
He wrote: ‘Alarming news from Lutsk. In the morning, at 9.25, a citizen who informed that he had seized a bus with hostages.
‘Currently, the police operation “hostage” has been introduced, and the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) has introduced the Boomerang plan.
‘It is done to make the situation settled without victims. Holding the progress of events under personal control.’
Bullet holes can be seen in the side of a white bus with blue stripes. Three of the windows are shattered.
Authorities have identified the man and said that he expressed frustration with ‘Ukraine’s system’ on his social media pages.
Armed officers stand outside a police van. The bus where the hostages are being held can be seen behind
Police tape surrounds the scene as people gather to watch the intense operation unfold
Authorities have identified the man and said that he expressed frustration with ‘Ukraine’s system’ on his social media pages. Pictured, the police cordon
Ukrainian media reported that gunshots could be heard at the scene. It was not immediately clear whether anyone has been injured.
One terrified woman called her friend from the bus saying the attacker had explosives.
Law enforcement surrounded the bus in Lutsk and cordoned off the city. Shots were heard at the scene but there was no immediate information about casualties.
The anti-terrorist unit of Ukraine’s Special Security Service is at the scene.
More to follow.