Kyiv regional police detained a 42-year-old man on Saturday, April 25, after he opened fire in a residential area of Bucha while in a state of alcohol intoxication.
According to Kyiv Regional Police, witnesses reported hearing shots on a city street, prompting an immediate response from security police and patrol units. Officers arriving at the scene discovered that the suspect had exited a taxi and begun firing “chaotically” into the air.
No injuries were reported in the incident. Investigators have opened a criminal case under Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hooliganism involving a firearm).
This incident occurs amid heightened public concern regarding firearm safety following a far more serious shooting in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district on April 18.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko recently confirmed that the death toll from that attack has risen to seven after another victim died in hospital. The Holosiivskyi shooter, a 58-year-old Russian-born man, killed several civilians and a hostage in a supermarket before being shot dead by KORD special forces.
While the Bucha incident resulted in no casualties, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko have both emphasized a “zero-tolerance” approach to illegal firearm use in civilian areas.
Following the deadly events in Kyiv earlier this month, the SBU has classified the Holosiivskyi attack as a terrorist act, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has ordered a comprehensive review of police conduct during high-risk interventions to ensure the “serve and protect” principle is strictly maintained.