Ukrainian police shoot dead gunman who killed at least 5 and took hostages in a supermarket

An armored vehicle outside a supermarket, where Ukrainian police killed a man who opened fire in a city district and barricaded himself into the supermarket on Saturday, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 18, 2026. VALENTYN OGIRENKO / REUTERS

A gunman who killed at least five people in the streets of Kyiv on Saturday, April 18, before taking hostages and barricading himself in a nearby supermarket has been shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said.

The head of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Ihor Klymenko, said in a statement on social media that special tactical police units stormed the store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed. The attacker was killed while resisting arrest, he said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least five people were killed and that 10 more had been hospitalized.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Klymenko provided no speculation as to the assailant's motives but said that police negotiators spoke with the attacker for roughly 40 minutes.

"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," Klymenko said. "Consequently, the order was given to neutralize him."