Gunman Kills 6 in Kyiv Supermarket Siege

The 58-year-old gunman opened fire in a busy central area of ​​Kiev, killing several people on the street, then barricaded himself in a nearby store with customers and staff.

According to authorities, one hostage was killed during the siege, while another victim later died in hospital from severe injuries.

Negotiations failed during the approximately 40-minute standoff, prompting special tactical units to storm the building and “neutralize” the attacker, police said.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said officers tried to contact the gunman and even offered medical aid to a wounded hostage, but received no response.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the suspect had a previous criminal record, lived in the Donetsk region for years and was born in Russia. Authorities are still working to determine the cause of the incident.

Authorities added that the gunman set fire to an apartment before shooting and had a valid firearms licence.

The Ukrainian security service (SBU) classified the incident as a terrorist act.

Mass shootings have been extremely rare in Kiev, especially since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where violence in the capital has largely been linked to the ongoing war rather than isolated civilian attacks.

Residents of the Holosiivskyi region said that the armed attacker was known in the area but kept to himself.