UKRAINE’S top patrol police chief has dramatically resigned after two officers were accused of fleeing a bloodbath shooting that left six dead and 14 injured in Kyiv.
Yevhen Zhukov stepped down following fury over during the attack in the capital’s Holosiivskyi district on Saturday.
Ukraine’s top patrol police chief has dramatically resigned Credit: Suspilne
A video of the alleged attacker carrying a gun in Kyiv has emerged
The gunman barricaded himself inside a supermarket Credit: East2West
The massacre erupted when a gunman opened fire on random victims in the street before storming a supermarket and taking hostages.
Terrified witnesses watched as the shooter – later killed in a gun battle with – unleashed chaos across the neighbourhood.
‘s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko confirmed the two officers seen in the footage have been suspended, with a full now underway.
He blasted: “‘Serve and protect’ is not just a slogan. It must be supported by appropriate professional actions. Especially at critical moments, when people’s lives depend on it.”
But he warned against wider blame, adding: “It is not entirely correct to make generalisations about the entire police only by the actions of two employees.”
Zhukov admitted the officers had “failed to assess the situation properly and left civilians in danger” and said they acted “unprofessionally and unworthily”.
In a stunning move, he declared: “As a combat officer, I have decided to submit my resignation from the position I currently hold.”
President also tore into the officers, revealing they were “at the scene of the , but did not stop the murderer, and fled on their own”.
He accused them of “inaction” and confirmed a criminal case is now being handled by Ukraine’s national investigations bureau, including scrutiny of their past work.
“We are going through a war and every day, unfortunately, there are human losses from Russian ,” Zelensky said. “It is especially painful to lose people like this, in an ordinary city, just on the street.”
The bloodshed began when the attacker approached and “shot at them almost at point blank range”.
At least four victims were gunned down outside, before the killer stormed a Velmart supermarket and continued his rampage.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko confirmed one person was killed inside the store, while a sixth victim – a woman in her 30s – later died in hospital.
Among the wounded was a 12-year-old boy, as well as a four-month old baby who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after a fire broke out.
Zelensky revealed: “It is known that the attacker set fire to his flat before going out onto the street armed.”
Ukrainian MP Oleksii Goncharenko said flames were also seen at the supermarket – later confirmed to have been started by the attacker.
At one stage, the gunman held hostages inside the store as negotiators desperately tried to reach him.
Klymenko said: “Special forces of the National Police stormed the store where the attacker was holed up.
“He took people hostage and shot at a police officer during the detention. Before that, negotiators tried to contact him.”
He added officers spent 40 minutes trying to talk down.
“We tried to persuade him, knowing that there was likely a wounded person inside.
“We even offered to bring in tourniquets to stop the bleeding, but he did not respond.”
The siege ended when special forces stormed the building and shot the gunman dead as he resisted arrest and was “acting chaotically”.
Hostages were then led to safety.
The Ukrainian Special Forces Police Unit evacuate a hostage
The attacker has been identified as a 58-year-old man originally from who had been living in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district.
He is also believed to have previously lived in the war-torn Donetsk region.
Local reports named him as Dmytry Vasylchenkov, though authorities have not officially confirmed his identity.
The suspect had reportedly lived in for around a decade and had previously been prosecuted.
A neighbour said: “He’s such an intelligent man. You’d never say he’s some kind of gangster.
“He always carries a backpack. He always says hello. He didn’t really socialise much with people.”
Officials described his mental state as “clearly unstable”.
The gunman used a Kel-Tec Sub-2000 semi-automatic carbine – a weapon legally owned under Ukrainian .
Klymenko confirmed the firearm was registered and that the suspect had recently sought to renew his licence, even submitting a medical certificate.
Investigators are now probing how he obtained the necessary documents.
Despite the carnage, Klymenko said there would be no mass checks on gun owners.
“I believe that people should have the right to armed self-defence,” he added. “Especially after the experience when, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, civilians received weapons for national resistance.”
Under Ukrainian law, civilians can own non-automatic firearms if they meet licence requirements, including having no criminal record or of mental illness.
A 2023 survey suggested only around 3.4 per cent of Ukrainian adults own guns.
Kyiv – more used to missile strikes during Russia’s invasion – has rarely seen violence of this kind on its streets.
Eight victims remain in hospital, including one adult in an “extremely serious condition” and three in serious condition.
Zelensky warned the toll could still rise, saying “every detail must be checked” as investigators examine multiple theories behind the attack.
“My condolences to the families and loved ones,” he said.
“I wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
An investigation into the massacre is ongoing.
The gunman was armed with a Kel-Tec Sun-2000 semi-automatic carbine
The gunman stormed into the supermarket and took hostages Credit: Getty
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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