SBU Arrests Suspect in Kyiv Postal Bomb Case

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Monday it has arrested a suspect involved in a June 5 postal bomb case in Kyiv.

On Friday, June 5, a parcel exploded at a warehouse in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district operated by private postal company Nova Poshta, killing one employee and injuring two.

The SBU said in its Monday press release that it has arrested a 35-year-old suspect who was attempted to send the parcel to his friend in Kyiv.

The agency said the suspect, who was born in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and resides in central Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, was trying to send “illegally purchased weapons” to his friend in Kyiv by commercial mail against safety protocols.

“According to the investigation, the shipment contained fragmentation ammunition, the shipment of which is prohibited… Neglecting safety rules, he sent illegally purchased weapons to an acquaintance in Kyiv,” the press release says.

The SBU arrested the suspect in Zaporizhzhia with the help of the local police and found a phone containing the shipment detail.

The man received a notice of suspicion – a legal step preceding formal charges – under Ukraine’s Criminal Code for the illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives, where he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The SBU said the investigation is ongoing. It remains unclear how the suspect obtained the weapon.

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