Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He had also expressed anti-Semitic and anti-Ukrainian views.
A deadly shooting in Kyiv on April 18 left multiple victims after a gunman opened fire in a residential area before taking hostages in a supermarket.
The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Dmytro Vasylchenkov, was killed by special forces after a standoff. Seven people were killed and 14 others were injured during the attack, officials said.
Authorities later confirmed the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack.
The violence unfolded in the Holosiivskyi district, where the gunman first targeted civilians and later barricaded himself inside a Velmart store. At the same time, a fire broke out in his apartment, adding to the chaos.
Police officers fled the scene
Following the shooting, two police officers have been suspended, as footage showed them running away from the scene instead of trying to stop the violence, Euronews reported on April 19.
On Monday, April 20, the police chief of Ukraine resigned as a result of the footage showing the officers fleeing.
But why did Vasylchenkov do what he did?
Questions over motive
Investigators are examining the attacker’s background and possible motivations. According to media reports, Vasylchenkov held anti-Ukrainian and anti-Semitic views.
Authorities say he denied Ukraine’s legitimacy, referring to it as the “so-called Ukraine,” and expressed support for militant actions in the country’s east.
An open-source investigation by Toronto Television identified a Facebook account believed to belong to him, active between 2016 and 2019, which reflected similar ideological positions.
A “General of the Russian army”
On April 22, The New Voice of Ukraine reported that material was recovered from the suspect’s phone. Ukraine’s national police chief, Ivan Vyhivskyi, said the footage shows the attacker recording himself during the assault.
“When we examined certain files on his phone, he was constantly filming himself while shooting. At times, he walked around the building entrance calling himself a general of the Russian army. We understand he had certain issues,” Vyhivskyi said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Officials have not confirmed any direct ties between the suspect and Russian authorities, but the statements are being reviewed as part of the investigation.
The inquiry remains ongoing as law enforcement continues to analyze evidence and reconstruct the sequence of events.
Sources: Interfax-Ukraine, media reports, Toronto Television, Reuters, Sky News, The New Voice of Ukraine, Euronews
