Two Kyiv police officers are suspected over their response to a deadly April 18 shooting
The Facts
- Two patrol police officers in Kyiv were notified of suspicion over their actions during the April 18 shooting.
- The incident took place on April 18 in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district.
- According to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, the patrol officers arrived at the scene, saw wounded civilians including a child, a man and a woman, and did not stop the armed man.
- Kravchenko said video from the scene showed the officers running away or leaving the scene instead of acting.
- The officers are suspected of official negligence causing grave consequences under Article 367, part 3 of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
- Ukrainian authorities are treating the shooting as a terrorist act.
- The reported death toll rose to seven after one of the wounded died in hospital.
Context
What are the police officers accused of doing?
Prosecutors say the patrol crew responded to a shooting call, saw several wounded people including a child, and then fled or left the scene despite being armed and having legal grounds to use their service weapons Радіо Свобо…,УКРІНФОРМ,Интерфакс-У….
What charges are being pursued against the officers?
They were notified of suspicion for official negligence that caused grave consequences, which outlets identified as Article 367, part 3 of Ukraine's Criminal Code Deutsche Welle,ФОКУС,Интерфакс-У….
How many people were reported killed in the shooting?
Multiple reports said seven people were dead after a wounded man later died in hospital, raising the toll from six to seven РБК-Украина,Perth Now,Internazionale.
How left and right read it
The most troubling part of this case is not only that seven people are now reported dead in an attack authorities are treating as terrorism, but that prosecutors say officers reached the scene, saw wounded civilians including a child, and left rather than intervene. Notifying the two Kyiv patrol officers of suspicion for official negligence underscores that public trust depends on real accountability when state institutions fail in a crisis.
In a terrorist attack that has now left seven people dead, the basic expectation is that police confront the threat and protect civilians. Prosecutors say these two Kyiv patrol officers arrived, saw wounded people including a child, and ran from the scene without stopping the armed man, which is why the negligence case matters as a test of whether public authority is matched by duty and competence.
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