DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine -- Four midday blasts roiled Dnipropetrovsk, injuring at least 29 people – including nine children – in attacks that government officials are treating as acts of terrorism.
At least five of the injured were reportedly in serious condition after being struck by debris. No deaths or arrests have been reported, neither has any motive been established. However, one former top law enforcement official expressed doubts over the terrorism claim.
“This doesn’t look like a terrorist attack, but more like a criminal act stemming from an economic dispute,” said Oleksandr Skipalsky, a former Security Service of Ukraine lieutenant general and ex-head of the military intelligence department of the Defense Ministry.
Residents of the eastern industrial city of 1 million people — located 400 kilometers southeast of Kyiv – were on edge for much of the day after the blasts, fearing that more could strike. The city was blanketed with police and security, including 42 special personnel and six armored carriers.
Authorities said the four explosions took place inside trash bins between 11:50 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. in the heart of the city along the main tram line that traverses Karl Marx Avenue, all in public spaces.
At a late afternoon press conference in Dnipropetrovsk, Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and Security Service Chief Ihor Kalinin said investigators are trying to determine whether the blasts today are related to a Nov. 16 explosion that killed one person and injured two others, also when a bomb went off in a trash bin — like in today’s blasts.
The events are one of independent Ukraine’s most devastating terrorist attacks.
By 4:30 p.m., authorities had closed off Karl Marx Avenue. Cafes and shops in the area were closed. By 6 p.m., a third of the thoroughfare was still cordoned off by police. Offiers were searching through trash bins, presumably for more explosives or evidence.
The first blast happened at a tram station by the Opera Theater at the crossroads with Sirova Street.
The second took place by the fountain near Rodina Theater, while the third one happened near Globa Park. The fourth one took place at the tram station by the Opera Theater again, only on the opposite side.
“We didn’t know what happened. We thought it maybe was a gas explosion or something,” said Dana Vynnytska, a singer for DagaDana jazz band which was on tour in Dnipropetrovsk.
She said people in the street were confused and their reactions seemed “like they were in shock.”
"Some people shouted that we need to call someone, others were just walking past like nothing happened,"added Vynnytska.
Police in Dnipropetrovsk acted calmly and answered questions matter-of-factly after the explosions.
Just hours after the explosion, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov condemned the attacks on his Facebook page and said he was certain that the case will be swiftly solved and the guilty brought to justice.
“The ones who gain from this (attack) are those who are interested in destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and who act under the principle of ‘the worse it is the better’,” said Azarov.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers didn’t rule out that President Viktor Yanukovych’s government is behind the attacks to divert public attention.
Mykola Tymenko, a member of imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s faction, told the Associated Press that he “does not rule out” that senior government officials were involved in organizing the blasts. Tomenko says the government may be using the attack to deflect the world’s attention from Tymoshenko who today released pictures of bruises on her body she says prison officials inflicted on her.
International condolences have started pouring in.
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued a statement saying she “learned with shock and concern of the explosions reported today in the city of Dnipropetrovsk.”
"Her first thoughts are with the victims of these attacks, and with their families and friends, and she expresses her solidarity at this time with the people of Ukraine," her statement said.
UNA-UNSO, a right-wing party, suggested that Kremlin were behind the blasts. "It is Kremlin who has to benefit from the explosions, death and instability in Ukraine. This puts EURO 2012 under threat, as well as foreign investment and the European choice in general," the party statement said.
UEFA indicated, however, that the football tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1 is going on as planned.
"This event does not change UEFA’s confidence in the security measures that have been developed by the authorities in view of UEFA Euro 2012, and which will ensure a smooth and festive tournament," the organizer said in a statement.
By dusk, the city was calm and the blast areas had been cleaned up.
See the Kyiv Post photo gallery here.
Kyiv Post staff writers Mark Rachekvych can be reached at [email protected], Olga Rudenko at [email protected] and Katya Gorchinskaya at [email protected]
