Terrorist attack in Lviv. Zelensky: Perpetrators recruited by Russia

The perpetrators of the terrorist act in Lviv, which resulted in the death of a policewoman and the wounding of 25 people, were recruited by a Russian organization via the Telegram messenger, said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Sunday.

“The circumstances of this attack (in Lviv) are currently being fully analyzed. Many facts have already been established. The perpetrators were recruited via Telegram, and the organization of the attack is Russian,” said the President of Ukraine in an evening speech published on Telegram.

Zelensky noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine will present the details of the investigation to the public. He added that he ordered measures to be developed to prevent similar crimes.

According to the president, Ukrainian officers already have experience in counteracting such recruitments and “dozens of similar situations have been stopped.” He stressed that greater involvement of local communities, authorities and state institutions is necessary to limit Russia's ability to organize attacks and sabotage in the Ukrainian hinterland.

“We have intelligence data that the Russians are planning further such attacks. Greater protection for people is needed,” the president concluded.

“Based on the procedural supervision of the District Prosecutor's Office in Lviv, a 33-year-old resident of Kostopol in the Rivne Oblast was charged with committing a terrorist act,” the Prosecutor General's Office reported.

According to an earlier statement from the prosecutor's office, the police received a report of a break-in at a store in the center of Lviv. After the patrol arrived at the scene, an explosion occurred. When the second police unit arrived there, there was another explosion.

The mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadowy, announced that 12 people injured in the attack are currently in hospital, two of whom are in a serious condition. Earlier on Sunday, he reported that a terrorist attack had taken place in the city center, resulting in the death of a policewoman and the hospitalization of at least 15 injured people.

From Kiev Iryna Hirnyk (PAP)

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