Support The Moscow Times!

13 Injured After Grenade Attack in Ukraine's Kharkiv

Investigators work at a blast site near a court house in Kharkiv on Jan. 19, 2015.

Six people were treated in a hospital for injuries on Tuesday after what police said was a grenade attack on a group of Ukrainian nationalists in the eastern city of Kharkiv, which several officials blamed on pro-Russian forces.

The explosion, the latest in a spate of mystery blasts targeting Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, occurred on Monday evening as people left a court hearing into a firearms case against a young nationalist.

Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million, is more than 220 kilometers from the separatist conflict zone further east, where Ukrainian government forces are battling pro-Russian rebels.

Right Sector, a far-right group which played a prominent role in street protests that toppled Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovych a year ago, said several of its activists had been hurt and pointed the finger at pro-Russian rebels.

"At the end of the court hearing, people began to go out of the courthouse and at that moment there was the explosion. As a result, 13 people were hurt, six of them received wounds," a police statement said.

Police said the explosion appeared to have been caused by a grenade.

Ukraine's state security service, the SBU, launched an anti-terrorist operation in the city after Monday's attack, which officials said had clearly targeted people, unlike previous blasts in Kharkiv, the southern city of Odessa and elsewhere.

"We see a link with this and preceding explosions in Kharkiv and Odessa. As to who carried this out, it is our home-grown traitors, the pro-Russian elements," said Markiyan Lubkivsky, a senior SBU official.

"We have no doubt this was a well-organized system which is directed from across the border from Russia."

Kharkiv is a major defense center producing high-tech military equipment for Ukraine's defense industry. Other sites targeted in the city in recent months include a National Guard base, a military hospital and a bar where money was being collected for Ukrainian soldiers.

Andriy Sanin, a local Right Sector activist, said: "It is clear this was an attack on the lads of Right Sector. The pro-Russian terrorists have already several times carried out terrorist attacks in our city. This is their work."

"The pro-Russian bandits will pay for this in full," a Right Sector statement said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
$10 / month
$15 / month
Other
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more