Police say Oleksiy Belko, a Ukrainian citizen born in Crimea, stopped his white Opel in the middle of the Metro Bridge over the Dnipro River in Kyiv about 5 p.m. and started shooting from his Kalashnikov into the air and threatened to blow up the bridge. Belko’s motives were not clear.
Officials closed three metro stations — Dnipro, Hydropark, and Livoberezhna — and warned people on the Kyiv metro’s Facebook account. Automobile traffic on the bridge was stopped as well.
By 6:10 p.m., police special forces — at least one sniper, three armored vehicles, rescue and fire guard teams, and detectives — were in place.
Police have also searched the suspect’s home. He served in the Ukrainian armed forces in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Officials say he went AWOL and later spent seven days in military prison for violating an order.
The incident drew a crowd, including Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. He told journalists that the suspect may have been been intoxicated. “We talked over the phone with him and can say that he was delusional,” Klitschko explained.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov also got involved, telling journalists that the suspect was arrested.
As of 8:45 p.m. the Kyiv metro was fully operational.
Belko, 42, likely faces charges of terrorism.
