KIEV, July 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian law enforcement officers on Tuesday detained suspected accomplices of the man who took 13 people hostage in the city of Lutsk, Ukrainian interior ministry’s chief spokesman Artyom Shevchenko said.
"Individuals with certain links to him [the main suspect] were detained in Kharkov," the spokesman said, without providing any further information.
Meanwhile, a Kharkov-based media outlet NewsRoom reported citing own police sources that a 43-year-old suspected accomplice was detained in a joint operation by police and the Security Service of Ukraine. Preliminary information suggests that the man who seized the bus in Lutsk earlier sent a parcel to his suspected accomplice in Kharkov. During the search at his place, law enforcement officers seized several F-1 and RGD grenades, TT pistols with a silencer and cartridges.
The Kharkov region’s police confirmed that "a man who might be an accomplice to the person who took hostages in Lutsk was detained." "At the moment, police and the Security Service of Ukraine are searching the place where this individual lived. Investigators are currently working with the detainee," police said.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said after the hostages were released that "one person linked [to the hijacker] was detained a couple of hours ago. Firearms, cartridges, explosives and so on were seized," he said.
At the same time, the minister did not elaborate on the number of the detained accomplices, citing investigation purposes.
Avakov said the terrorist was armed with an assault rifle, a pistol and a grenade when he hijacked a bus in Lutsk.
"He indeed had a pistol and an assault rifle. He indeed had one combat grenade. Therefore, there was a threat. But it’s a thing of the past already," the minister said.
A bus in Lutsk with around 20 people onboard was hijacked earlier on Tuesday. The police said the terrorist was armed with grenades and an automatic weapon. The man himself informed the police about seizing the bus and noted that he had "planted another landmine in a crowded place in the city which can detonate." Ukraine’s media outlets reported that he had a previous criminal record.
Since taking the people hostage, the terrorist opened fire at law enforcement officers twice, hurled a grenade that did not explode and tried to shoot down a police quadcopter. People living in nearby buildings next to the scene were evacuated. The Ukrainian security service launched criminal proceedings on charges of terrorism.