At least six people were killed and 15 injured after a 58-year-old man opened fire in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district and then barricaded himself inside a Velmart supermarket. Special police forces stormed the store about 40 minutes later, killing the attacker and freeing hostages. Authorities are treating the event as an act of terrorism, investigating the motive, the use of a registered automatic weapon, and police conduct after video showed officers fleeing the scene.
Kyiv Supermarket Siege: Gunman Kills Six, Takes Hostages — Police Kill Attacker; Terror Probe Launched
A Rapid Operational Response Unit member stands by an armoured vehicle outisde a supermarket, where Ukrainian police killed a man who opened fire in a city district and barricaded himself into the supermarket on Saturday, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko - Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS/REUTERS
At least six people were killed and 15 others injured after a 58-year-old man opened fire in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district before barricading himself inside a Velmart supermarket and taking hostages, Ukrainian authorities said. Special forces from the National Police’s Rapid Response Unit stormed the store about 40 minutes after the attack began; the attacker was shot dead at the scene.
Timeline and Official Response
Attorney General Ruslan Kravchenko said the incident is being treated as an act of terrorism. He identified the attacker as a 58-year-old man born in Moscow who had long lived in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and had a criminal record. Investigators are working to establish the motive, the precise timeline and other circumstances surrounding the attack.
According to officials, the assailant first opened fire on a street in Holosiivskyi district, killing four people, then entered the Velmart supermarket where he killed another person and held hostages. Preliminary reports indicate he used a registered automatic weapon.
Police Action, Hostages and Casualties
A police hostage negotiator said she attempted to speak with the attacker but received no response and that he made no demands. After roughly 40 minutes without contact, the Rapid Response Unit stormed the supermarket. The attacker fired at officers during the attempt to arrest him and was killed, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko later said one more wounded victim died in hospital. Nine people were being treated in hospitals and six others received medical attention at the scene. Medical officials reported that a boy born in 2015 was hospitalized with gunshot wounds; his father and aunt were killed in the attack and his mother remains in serious condition.
Investigation Into Police Conduct
A video circulated showing some officers running after shots were heard, prompting National Police head Ivan Vyhivskyi to open an inquiry into police conduct. Those officers have been suspended pending the investigation. Yevhen Zhukov, head of Kyiv’s patrol police department, said he was resigning over what he described as unprofessional behavior by officers.
Other Details and Context
Kravchenko also reported that the apartment where the attacker was registered was set on fire around the time of the assault; investigators are examining whether the incidents are connected. Officials emphasized that mass shootings remain rare in Ukraine despite widespread private firearms ownership, and none of similar scale have been documented since the full-scale war began in 2022.
Status: The attacker is dead, four hostages were rescued, several victims remain hospitalized, an active criminal and internal police investigation is underway.
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