Ukraine hostage-taking ends peacefully
LUTSK, Ukraine — An “unstable” armed man who seized more than a dozen hostages on a long-distance bus in Ukraine’s western city of Lutsk was detained late Tuesday after a standoff that lasted about 12 hours, and all hostages were freed unharmed, officials said.
The assailant agreed to release the hostages after a 15-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his deputy chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko told reporters.
Shortly after the call, Zelenskiy posted a brief video message on his Facebook page to urge Ukrainians to watch “Earthlings,” a 2005 American documentary exposing humanity’s cruel exploitation of animals — as the hostage-taker had wanted.
Minutes later, the assailant walked out of the bus and surrendered to the police. Authorities said all 13 hostages he held were freed and no one was hurt.
Earlier, after negotiations with the first deputy chief of the national police, Yevhen Koval, the man had released three of the hostages, including a pregnant woman. At one point during the conversation, he fired his gun through the bus window and a bullet narrowly missed Koval, who also carried in water for the hostages.
According to Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko, police identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-yearold Ukrainian born in Russia. Krivosh had been convicted twice on a wide range of charges — robbery, fraud, illegal arms handling — and spent 10 years behind bars.
Ukrainian media outlets said the man was an animal-welfare activist who helped protect stray dogs.