Ukraine Police Chief Resigns Amid Criticism Over Officers' Conduct
The head of Ukraine's patrol police, Yevhen Zhukov, has stepped down following criticism directed at two officers accused of fleeing during a fatal mass shooting in Kyiv.
On Saturday, six individuals lost their lives and 14 others sustained injuries after a man opened fire on pedestrians in the southern Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv before taking hostages in a nearby supermarket. The assailant was subsequently killed in a police shootout.
Video footage circulated online appeared to show officers abandoning civilians and fleeing the scene.
Investigation and Official Responses
Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko announced that the officers involved had been suspended and that an investigation into their conduct was ongoing.
"'Serve and protect' is not just a slogan. It must be supported by appropriate professional actions. Especially at critical moments, when people's lives depend on it,"
he stated on Telegram.
However, Klymenko also urged caution against generalizing the actions of two officers to the entire police force.
"It is not entirely correct to make generalisations about the entire police only by the actions of two employees."
During a news conference on Sunday, Zhukov acknowledged that the officers had "failed to assess the situation properly and left civilians in danger" and described their behavior as "unprofessional and unworthily."
"As a combat officer, I have decided to submit my resignation from the position I currently hold,"
Zhukov declared.
Details of the Attack and Victims
Ukrainian authorities are treating Saturday's shooting as a terrorist act, though no motive has been publicly disclosed. Klymenko characterized the shooter's mental state as "clearly unstable."
Eight individuals remain hospitalized, including one adult in an "extremely serious condition" and three others in serious condition, according to officials.
President Volodymyr Zelensky provided an update on Sunday, stating that the two officers "were at the scene of the crime, but did not stop the murderer, and fled on their own."
"Ine inaction,"
he accused, adding that a criminal case regarding their conduct, which will also review their prior service records, is being handled by Ukraine's national investigations bureau.
"We are going through a war and every day, unfortunately, there are human losses from Russian strikes,"
Zelensky said.
"It is especially painful to lose people like this, in an ordinary city, just on the street."
Further information about the victims has emerged. One man who died was the father of a child injured in the attack, and another victim was believed to be the boy's aunt, according to Kravchenko.
About the Shooter
The perpetrator has been identified as a 58-year-old man originally from Moscow, Russia, who had been residing in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district prior to the shooting.
Before relocating to Kyiv, he lived in the eastern Donetsk region, an area largely under Russian occupation and previously affected by separatist conflict before Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials reported.
The firearm used was officially registered. Authorities are investigating how the shooter obtained the necessary documents to renew his license.
Authorities also reported that the attacker had set fire to his apartment before commencing the shooting spree.
Context and Gun Ownership in Kyiv
While Kyiv frequently experiences attacks amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, shootings of this nature are uncommon in the city.
Klymenko stated there would be no mass inspection of gun owners following the incident.
"I believe that people should have the right to armed self-defence,"
he added, referencing the experience early in the full-scale invasion when civilians were armed for national resistance.
Ukrainian law permits citizens to own non-automatic firearms if they meet licensing requirements, such as having no criminal record or history of mental illness.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, Ukrainians have been authorized to carry weapons for self-defense and national defense purposes.
A 2023 small arms survey estimated that approximately 3.4% of Ukrainian adults own firearms.
