Ukraine: Conscript shoots dead five at aerospace factory

BBC

A National Guard conscript in Ukraine has shot dead five people and injured another five in the eastern city of Dnipro, the interior ministry says.

The man opened fire as guards were being issued weapons at the Pivdenmash aerospace plant early on Thursday.

The soldier, named as Artemiy Ryabchuk, 21, fled with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. He was later arrested by police.

He was then seen calmly describing how he shot people one-by-one. His motives were not immediately clear.

One Ukrainian lawmaker said the suspect may have been bullied. Some reports say he surrendered to police voluntarily.

National Guard chief Mykola Balan submitted his resignation request shortly afterwards, saying a commander was ultimately responsible "for any incidents, both good and bad".

In a statement, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered an investigation into the "terrible" shooting.

"I expect law enforcement officers to keep the public fully informed about all the circumstances of this crime," he said - including the gunman's motives and "how the incident was allowed to happen".

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky has already set up a special investigative commission.

Four National Guard members - all men - were killed during the shooting that happened at 03:40 local time on Thursday (01:40 GMT), the interior ministry says.

The fifth victim was a woman working for a security company.

A video has now emerged where the suspect is heard saying that he shot the woman in the head because she had refused to open a door so he could leave the premises.

 

There are fears that the death toll will increase further, as one of the injured - a woman - has a serious abdominal wound.

More than 40 National Guard members and police officers have volunteered to donate blood to help the injured, the interior ministry says.

Pivdenmash - known as Yuzhmash during its Soviet period - is a state-owned plant that produces and tests material related to aeronautics and defence.