Kyiv’s prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into a terrorist attack that killed one serviceman and wounded four other people in the city’s Darnytskyi district on Thursday.
In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) is investigating the incident as “a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a person” under Article 258 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
“It is known that the first explosion occurred when two National Guardsmen were patrolling the territory, as a result of which one of them died. Another National Guardsman and a security guard at the site were injured,” the statement reads.
First responders had arrived and begun working at the scene when a second explosion took place, injuring two police officers.
“At this time, it is known that an improvised explosive device exploded,” the prosecutor’s office added.
The statement provided neither the exact time and location of the attack, nor the identities of the victims. It is not known who carried out the attack.
On Wednesday, Dec. 10, the SBU released a statement announcing that police had foiled a similar attack in Zhytomyr, a city roughly 90 miles west of Kyiv.
According to the SBU, a 16-year-old girl had been recruited by Russia to assemble and detonate an improvised explosive device.
On Dec. 5, the SBU detained a man in Ukraine’s southwestern city of Mykolaiv who had been recruited to plant an IED in a vehicle used by Ukraine’s armed forces, as per Ukrinform.
In both cases, the SBU said that the alleged perpetrator had been recruited by Russia’s security services through Telegram.
Russia frequently carries out “double tap” attacks – where a second strike is carried out after first responders have arrived – in its missile attacks on Ukraine.