SBU probes possible Russia links in Kyiv attack, examines suspect’s motive
Photo of the shooter who carried out the terrorist attack in Kyiv on April 18 (Photo: Anti-Corruption Center)
Investigators seized a phone from the man who carried out the April 18 attack in Kyiv that killed seven people, containing audio and video files, and are examining his contacts and possible links, including to Russian actors, an SBU official told Censor.Net on Apr. 22.
Shvets said the materials obtained are now being analyzed and will be taken into account in establishing the motives and all circumstances of the crime.
“One of the main versions being considered at this stage is that the crime was committed on the basis of personal animosity. It is important to establish the motive for his subsequent actions,” he said.
A number of examinations have also been ordered, including a forensic psychiatric evaluation of the attacker’s mental state.
According to Shvets, the investigation into the attack in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district is only beginning, so it is too early to speak about a final version of events.
On April 18, a 58-year-old Moscow-born man living in Kyiv opened fire on people in the Holosiivskyi district and then took hostages at a Velmart supermarket. At the same time, a fire broke out in the shooter’s apartment.
KORD special forces killed him during the assault. Seven people, excluding the shooter, were reported killed and 14 injured. Law enforcement classified the shooting of civilians and hostage-taking as a terrorist attack.
The shooter was identified as Dmytro Vasylchenkov. According to media reports, he held anti-Ukrainian and antisemitic views. The OSINT team of Toronto Television found his Facebook account, which was active from 2016 to 2019.
The investigation said Vasylchenkov did not recognize Ukraine’s legitimacy, referring to it as the “so-called Ukraine,” and regretted that militant Igor Girkin had not “completely destroyed Bakhmut” in 2014.
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