UPDATED: Explosion in Kyiv Injures 3 People

Three people injured in yesterday’s explosion near the Cabinet of Ministers building in Kyiv are all relatives of the commander of a Ukrainian military sniper unit.

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Valeriy Chibineyev, commander of the 79th Air Assault Brigade’s sniper unit, told Hromadske that the victims were his wife, mother, and another relative.

Photo credit: HROMADSKE

Chibineyev is now at the hospital where the victims are receiving treatment. One of the women was released yesterday for outpatient treatment. Another remains in intensive care, but is in stable condition.

During last year’s Independence Day celebrations, Chibineyev was named Hero of Ukraine, the highest possible national honor.

Photo credit: HROMADSKE

This year, as Ukraine celebrated its independence from the Soviet Union, a small explosive device detonated near Ukraine's government headquarters wounding three bystanders. The police initially considered the incident an act of “hooliganism.” However, investigators subsequently classified the explosion as "attempted murder.”

Photo credit: HROMADSKE

The explosion occurred around 2 p.m. on Hrushevsky Street in Kyiv, between the Cabinet of Ministers building and the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium.

Oleksandr Turchynov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that a “terrorist attack” is one of investigators’ working leads.