Ukraine Deputy tosses grenades at local council meeting, injuring 26

December 15, 2023

A village deputy in western Ukraine threw grenades onto the floor of a council meeting on Friday, injuring 26 people, according to police.

Friday morning at the village council headquarters in Keretsky in the western Zakarpattia region. The meeting was being live-streamed on Facebook when the attack occurred. 

Video of the incident, which can be seen here, was shared multiple times on social media on Friday. It shows the man, dressed in black, entering the room during an impassioned discussion taking place about 90 minutes into the council meeting. He stands in front of the closed door for about 30 seconds before tossing three grenades into the room. The detonation was caught on video, showing the room going dark and filling with smoke as people dove or fell to the floor. 

“As a result, 26 people were wounded, six of whom are in a grave condition,” police said in a statement, adding that medics were trying to resuscitate the man who threw the grenades.

Authorities have not released the man’s name, but the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported that he’s been identified as Serhiy Batryn, a parliamentarian who is a member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s political party.

Though Keretsky is a part-Hungarian, part-Ukrainian village and not far from the Hungarian border there was no suggestion on Friday of an ethnic dimension to the attack.

The Ukrainian secret service (SBU) has opened a terrorism investigation.

PHOTO: Grenade attack at Ukraine council meeting 

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