Kyiv police have detained a 40-year-old man from Ternopil suspected of being involved in an explosion at a Ukrposhta postal office in the Solomianskyi district of the capital, authorities said.
According to the Kyiv Police Telegram channel, investigators, bomb technicians, and canine units responding to the scene found fragments of an explosive projectile. Tracing the parcel’s origin, officers identified the sender and discovered another suspicious package containing demilitarized ammunition at a postal sorting center.
The suspect was arrested at his residence under Article 208 of Ukraine’s Criminal Procedure Code in a joint operation between Kyiv and Ternopil police, with customs officers assisting in the investigation. During a search of his apartment, police reportedly seized more than a dozen additional ammunition items.
Preliminary findings suggest the man had been manufacturing souvenir items from decommissioned ammunition, engraving them and sending them via postal services.
Kyiv investigators have opened criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal handling of ammunition or explosives — which carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison.
An explosion at a Ukrposhta sorting center in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv injured five people on Thursday.
Kyiv police said that they were working to establish the circumstances of the blast, which occurred while staff were inspecting a parcel.
“According to preliminary data, the explosion occurred at the sorting center of one of the postal operators during inspection of one of the parcels,” city police said in a statement.
“Five employees of the post office were injured as a result of the incident and are receiving medical assistance,” the police statement continued.
Medics, a team of investigators and police bomb disposal experts have completed work at the scene, various sources confirmed.