Two suspects detained over blast at Ukrainian draft office in Lviv region
Two local residents in Lviv region's Stryi district have been named suspects in a bombing at a military draft office that injured a serviceman. Investigators are checking a possible link to Russian intelligence services.
Ukraine's specialized defense-sector prosecutor's office for the Western region has announced that two residents of the Lviv region, aged 48 and 41, have been notified of suspicion in carrying out a terrorist attack on the grounds of a territorial recruitment center (TCK) in the Stryi district.
According to investigators, on September 17 at around 16:30, a Daewoo Lanos car drove past the military facility. Investigators believe the driver handed an explosive device to the passenger, who then threw it out of the side window. The device landed on the recruitment center's grounds near a parking exit.
When a 55-year-old recruitment center officer approached the object, it detonated. The serviceman sustained multiple injuries. After the explosion, the two men attempted to flee but were detained shortly afterward.
Their actions have been classified under the article of Ukraine's Criminal Code covering a terrorist act committed by a group of people acting by prior conspiracy. During a search of one suspect's home, investigators also found two additional explosive devices.
Prosecutors have asked a court to remand both suspects in custody. The motive behind the crime is still being established, and investigators are also examining a possible version involving cooperation between the suspects and Russian intelligence services.
The evening before, on September 17, the Lviv regional recruitment service had reported a separate explosion near a district recruitment center building in Mykolaiv, Lviv region, in which two servicemen were reported injured. Prosecutors later said that in that case as well, a Daewoo Lanos drove past the open gates of the recruitment center just before an explosive device was thrown onto the facility's grounds.
