In a hijacked bus in Lutsk, all the hostages were released and the assailant was arrested.

“A woman, a child and an elderly woman have been released,” an SBU source told Interfax.

At the time, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Twitter that the first deputy chief of the National Police, Yevhen Koval, had “taken three hostages.”

Avakov MP Anton Heraščenko reported on Facebook that the released hostages were “an old woman, a teenage girl and a pregnant young woman.”

The presidency, meanwhile, announced that the hostages had been released after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a personal phone conversation with the attacker.

On Tuesday morning in Lutsk, about 400 km west of the capital Kiev, a man armed with firearms and explosives, named Maxim Plochoy, hijacked an intercity bus carrying 10-20 people as previously reported. The assailant called the police and stated that he was armed and that the bus was mined.

During the hour-long hostage drama in central Lutsk, gunshots and explosions resonated.

It is still unclear if anyone was injured in this incident.

The attacker had accomplices.

Later that night, the attacker “gave up and [buvo] detained, all hostages released, ”an SBU source told Interfax news agency.

During the hostage management operation, an armored transporter approached a hijacked bus in the center of Lutsk, and shots were heard.

“During a special operation planned by the SBU’s anti-terror center, Bumerang, law enforcement officers managed to prevent casualties among the peaceful population. Maxim Plochoy was identified as the terrorist who carried out the propaganda from extremist views. Today , all the hostages have been released, there are no victims, nobody has sought medical help, “said the SBU.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, for his part, said the attacker had accomplices.

“His accomplices have been arrested. One of them, in Kharkov; ammunition and explosives were found there,” the minister said during a press conference in Lucke.

Avakov described the attacker as “an unbalanced man: he drew a world for himself, invented revenge for the world”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that no one died during the hostage management operation.

“Congratulations to all those who have been fighting all day for the liberation of the people in Lucke and, indeed, for their lives. We all got excited and watched the events unfold, we made plans and changed them according to the situation. Human life is the most important value. We have not lost anyone, “wrote the head of state on Facebook.

On Tuesday night, Zelensky spoke personally to the assailant on the phone and met one of his demands: He released a video in which the head of state urges everyone to watch the 2005 movie “Zemliani”. This video was removed from the President’s Facebook page after the attacker was arrested.

On Tuesday morning in Lutsk, about 400 km west of the capital Kiev, a man armed with firearms and explosives, named Maxim Plochoy, hijacked an intercity bus carrying 10-20 people as previously reported. The assailant called the police and stated that he was armed and that the bus was mine.

The hostage drama ended around 10 p.m., authorities said.

The SBU has launched a criminal investigation into the terrorist act.

The first terrorist

Plochojus admitted that he had hijacked a bus and taken hostages through the Telegram channel, which was controlled by an attacker. He added that “the state has always been and always is the first terrorist” and also demanded that high-ranking Ukrainian officials make statements through social statements, identifying themselves as terrorists.

“The man reported that the bus was mined, that it had an automatic weapon and a large amount of explosives. Also, according to him, there is another explosive device elsewhere, which can be detonated remotely,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. .

According to A. Geraščenko, the police discovered that the attacker’s real name was Maxim Krivos and that he was a 44-year-old Ukrainian citizen born in Russia.

Krivos is said to have been sentenced to prison twice for various crimes, including theft, fraud and illegal possession of weapons and explosives. He spent a total of 10 years behind bars.

At that time, the Criminal Search Department of the Ukrainian National Police reported in its Telegram account that “the terrorist was being treated for mental health problems.” However, the interior minister later denied the fact and urged officials to responsibly evaluate the information they publish about the incident, while the attacker reads media reports about him.

A. Heraščenka noted that the author’s book “Philosophy of Prestupnika” (“Philosophy of the Criminal”) that he presented to M. Plochojus was found on the Internet, which tells of his experience in prisons and his approach to life.

“They corrected me for 15 years, but they did not correct me, on the contrary, I became even more who I am,” quoted an excerpt from that book.

Reports say Krivos tried to contact journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding to be informed of their demands and to send more reporters to the scene.

Zelensky said early Tuesday that he was surprised by the situation.

“I personally control the course of events,” said the head of state.