Kyiv gunman kills six, police investigate motive and possible Russia link

A burst of gunfire in a busy Kyiv neighborhood killed six people, wounded at least 14 others and sent police into a 40-minute hostage standoff inside a supermarket, underscoring how civilian life in the Ukrainian capital remains vulnerable far from the front line.

The attack unfolded in Holosiivskyi district, where the gunman first fired at people on the street before forcing his way into the store and taking hostages. Special tactical units later stormed the building after negotiators spent about 40 minutes trying to secure a peaceful surrender. Police shot the suspect dead, and Ukrainian officials said four hostages were rescued.

Authorities identified the attacker as a 58-year-old man born in Moscow. They said he was carrying a legally registered carbine and had gone back to licensing officials in December 2025 to have the weapon test-fired because his permit was expiring. He also submitted a medical certificate as part of the renewal process, and investigators are now checking which medical institution issued it.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said the dead included a young woman who died in hospital after initially being wounded. The total number of injured was put at 14 by officials, though some reports cited 15. The Security Service, known as the SBU, said the case was being investigated as a terrorist act, but no motive had been established.

The shooting cut through a capital already living under the strain of Russia’s wider war, where residents are accustomed to air raid alerts, missile strikes and drone attacks, but far less so to mass gun violence in the street. That contrast has made the case especially unsettling for Kyiv, where even a supermarket can become the scene of a deadly siege.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said authorities were working to determine the motive, while Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the hospital death that raised the toll to six. Investigators are now weighing whether the attack was an act of personal violence, terrorism or something tied to Russia, even as the city grapples with the immediate trauma of another deadly day inside its own streets.