Car Explosion in Kyiv Kills Defense Intelligence Officer

A car explosion in Kyiv has killed a colonel from the Defense Intelligence(or Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine), Maksym Shapoval.

This was announced on the Ukrainian Ministery of Defense website.

“The National Police, rescue workers, explosive and forensic experts are working on the site. The event is being classified as a terrorist attack. All the circumstances of the tragedy are currently being established”.

The investigation considers a 'Russian trace' to be their main lead for the attack, according to the military Prosecutor General, Anatoliy Matios, writes Interfax-Ukraine. "The main lead in the attack is the fact there is a Russian trace. We will try to comment on other details when possible," he said in a press conference.

The Defense Intelligence conducts military intelligence relating to politics, economics, military technology, information and ecology. It is a subdivision of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The car explosion happened in Kyiv this morning, on June 27.

According to the director of department of communication of Ministry of Internal Affairs, Artem Shevchenko, “judging by the scene of the crime, an explosive device was triggered”, Interfax reported.

Law enforcement have classed this event as a terrorist act, according to a statement from the Kyiv police.

The spokeswoman for the Kyiv police, Oksana Blyschyk, also reported that a girl (born 1990) was injured by the explosion. The Kyiv resident received a fracture a wound.

The Director of the communication department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Artem Shevchenko, also stated that an elderly man was also injured as a result of the explosion. He was taken away by the emergency services.