Officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) have detained five more criminals involved in the deaths of four citizens as a result of the terrorist attack in Kharkiv on Sunday, February 22. The announcement was made by the Secretary of the National Security Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, on Thursday, February 26, reports Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, citing the agency’s press service.
According to Turchynov, five more members of a terrorist group have been detained during a special operation in Kharkiv on Thursday, February 26. Those detained include the organizer and the direct perpetrators of the terrorist act.
“Weapons and ammunition have been seized, including plastic explosives, detonators for the explosives, and grenades,” Turchynov said.
“Additionally two more criminals associated with this group have been detained by MIA officers in Mariupol, where they were preparing another terrorist act,” Tuchynov said. During the arrest 10 kg of TNT were seized.
According to SBU information, several of the terrorists had undergone training in the Russian Federation and coordinated their activities directly with Russian representatives in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
As previously reported, a bomb exploded during a peaceful rally in Kharkiv on Sunday, February 22. Two people died at the scene and 11 were wounded. The following day, a 15-year-old adolescent, who was in a coma with a head injury, died at the hospital. A day later, an 18-year-old student died of serious injuries received during the blast. So far 4 people have died as a result of the terrorist attack.
Security services have determined that the improvised explosive device was filled with shrapnel and had been placed in a plastic bag and buried in the snow along the route of the planned march for unity in Kharkiv. It was set off remotely. The SBU says evidence points to Russia’s involvement in the attack.
