Grenade Attack In Ukraine

An unidentified attacker hurled a grenade through the window of an office linked to Kiev's main railway station, wounding seven people, Ukrainian security forces said on Wednesday (March 11). At the station's sanitary office several hundred metres (yards) from the passenger terminal, there was shattered glass as well as parked police cars and an ambulance. Maryna Ostapenko, a spokesman for the SBU state security service said the attack took place at about 12.30 p.m. SBU officers were at the scene. She said by telephone that seven people were injured and there were no fatalities. An interior ministry spokesman, quoted by Interfax Ukraine news agency, said the assailant tossed the grenade from a car as it moved past the office. An eyewitness at the scene said there was a strong explosion. "It happened after 12, I heard a loud bang and there was a very strong explosion," said Galyna who works nearby. The spokesman identified the grenade as an RGD-5 type, which can cause a blast ranging over no more than 20 metres. Fifth Channel television said one of those hurt in the attack had suffered a serious eye injury. Such incidents of violence are rare occurrences in Ukraine since its independence from Soviet rule in 1991.

MediaScrape | March 11, 2009

Tags:. .sanitary. .assailant. .occurrences. .unidentified. .hurled