Ukraine councillor’s grenade attack wounds 26 at meeting
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Video footage shows a man in black joining the meeting before pulling three hand grenades from his pockets, releasing the safety pins and dropping them on the floor.
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KYIV – A Ukrainian village councillor set off hand grenades at a meeting, wounding 26 people, the national police said on Dec 15, triggering the launch of a terror investigation.
The incident took place on the morning of Dec 15 at the headquarters of the village council of Keretsky in western Ukraine’s mountainous Zakarpattia region.
A video posted by the police on Telegram shows a man dressed in black entering through the door of a council meeting during a heated discussion.
He then pulls three hand grenades from his pockets, releases the safety pins and drops them on the floor, triggering explosions as those at the meeting scream.
“As a result, 26 people were wounded, six of whom are in a grave condition,” the police statement said, adding that medical workers were trying to resuscitate the man who threw the grenades.
Ukraine’s police said the Ukrainian Security Service, or SBU, has opened a terrorism investigation.
It also said the national police have opened a probe into the illegal handling of weapons.
The committee’s live video of its discussion on social media showed that the man had walked in more than 1½ hours into the meeting and stood by the door before taking out the grenade.
It then showed chaos inside the small room, which went dark and was filled with smoke, with injured people on the floor.
The authorities did not name the man.
Many Ukrainians have access to weaponry owing to the war with Russia. AFP
