According to officials, during a hearing at a district court in Kyiv on Wednesday, a man who was brought in for proceedings detonated an explosive device, resulting in the injury of two police officers.
It is believed there were two explosions at Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district court. Authorities did not say that the blasts were linked to Ukraine’s war effort.
The building of Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi court was cordoned off and there were a number of ambulances outside, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Two ambulances were seen leaving the court building. Around 20 armed policemen in helmets were seen entering the premises.
Earlier Wednesday Ukrainian officials said that law enforcement in the capital Kyiv were responding to reports of an explosion at a district court and emergency services were responding on the scene.
Later a media correspondent heard another explosion.
Kyiv has been under heightened security since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year and a curfew remains in place during the night.
Kyiv City Military Administration said an explosion occurred at 17:20 pm local time (1520 GMT) while a defendant was being escorted by law enforcement to the courtroom.
The General Prosecutor’s Office said that a man who had been taken to a court hearing had detonated an explosive device as he attempted to “escape from custody” when he was in a restroom.
Klymenko urged residents of the capital not to approach the site and to allow first responders to carry out their work. “Details are being established,” he added.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
