Two police officers, Mykhailo Drobnytskyi and Anna Dudina, have been granted bail amid allegations of negligence during a recent terrorist attack in Kyiv. The Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office confirmed this development.
On April 21, a court ordered the officers to be held in custody with the option of bail set at 266,000 hryvnias. In court, Dudina denied the charges of negligence, while Drobnytskyi expressed regret over the incident.
The attack occurred on April 18 in the Holosiivskyi district, where an unidentified gunman opened fire, killing four people on the street before barricading himself inside a supermarket and taking hostages. Another victim died inside the store, bringing the total fatalities to seven. Authorities have classified the incident as a terrorist act under Article 258 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.
The shooter, a 58-year-old native of Moscow, was armed with registered firearms. Following the attack, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced a criminal investigation into the police officers’ handling of the situation, as reports indicated that two patrol officers fled the scene during the shooting.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko stated that other police units arrived shortly after and acted professionally. He criticized the officers who abandoned their posts, describing their actions as a significant shame. Klymenko emphasized that the broader police system should not be judged based on the actions of two individuals, noting that psychological preparedness is crucial in such extreme situations.
He also mentioned that one of the officers, a 44-year-old woman, had been working in the Patrol Police Department’s headquarters, while the other, a 27-year-old man, had joined the force in early 2024 after graduating from the Patrol Police Academy. Klymenko stressed that after a decade of service, officers should be adequately trained to respond to emergencies.
Two police officers in Kyiv face allegations of negligence during a terrorist attack that resulted in seven deaths. They have been released on bail as investigations continue into their actions during the incident.
Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty