Editor’s Note: Maksym Kryvosh has been detained by law enforcement and the hostages have been released. For the latest developments in this story, read our follow-up.
A man has seized a bus with about 20 people on board in western Ukraine on July 21, the National Police reported. The man is armed and has threatened to blow up the bus with explosives.
The bus, which has curtains covering its windows and one broken window, is currently parked on Teatralna Square in the center of Lutsk, a city 420 kilometers west of Kyiv. From time to time, police officers report that they hear the sounds of gunshots inside the bus.
The terrorist has also called police and told them that there is an explosive device hidden elsewhere in the city center. He claims he can detonate it remotely.
Officers have cordoned off the city center around the bus. It is unclear whether any of the hostages have been injured.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko, the terrorist is a 44-year-old resident of Lutsk named Maksym Kryvosh.
The man goes online by the name Maksym Plokhoy (“plokhoy” means “bad” in Russian). On the morning of July 21, he posted a message on Twitter celebrating “anti-system day.” His Twitter account was later suspended.
The terrorist has published 10 posts on Twitter, including a video in which he says: “Don’t be fooled, celebrate the truth.”
“My death is not an obstacle to the explosions. The truth from the mouth of 24 (people) will save the lives of hundreds.”
Man, who holds dozen hostages in Lutsk, posted a video message on his Twitter on July 21, 2020. (Courtesy)
The terrorist also tweeted his demands, but they were vague and largely incomprehensible.
According to Yuriy Kroshko, head of the State Emergency Services in Volyn Oblast, the man is “protesting against the system” by posting his demands on Twitter. Сurrently, police officers are monitoring this page and reportedly trying to call the man by phone.
“There are no clear requirements or claims, (he simply states) general phrases about dissatisfaction with some system,” said Kroshko.
The police in Lutsk have already opened a criminal case into violently taking hostages. By law, the terrorist may face 7-15 years in prison.
Arsen Avakov, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, is currently flying to Lutsk in order to coordinate law enforcement’s actions.
