In Lutsk, an Armed Man Seized a Bus with Hostages. He Surrendered 12 Hours Later After Zelensky Met His Demands
All the details in one place.
On Tuesday, July 21, around 9 a.m. in central Lutsk, a man seized the Berestechko — Krasylivka route bus, which had 13 passengers on board (including a pregnant woman and a child). The terrorist barricaded himself in the bus and fired from it; he also had explosives, the Interior Ministry press service said on Facebook.
The region declared the “Hostage” plan and stopped traffic in central Lutsk. The SBU classified the seizure as a terrorist act under Article 258, Part 1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
Maksym Kryvosh (nickname Plokhoy) was born in 1975 in Russia. He was convicted twice, in 1994 and 2005, and spent about 10 years in prison. In 2014, he published the book The Philosophy of a Criminal in an edition of 400 copies, in which he said he grew up in an intellectual family but, as a child, watched too many action films and decided to become a “tough guy”.
The terrorist said a third bomb was in a “crowded place in the city (Lutsk — ed.)” and that “everyone will blow up” if his demands are not met: heads of courts, ministries, the prosecutor’s office, parliament, churches and Ukrainian oligarchs must post videos on social media with the text “I am a terrorist in law”. Zelensky must post a video with the text “The 2005 film Earthlings should be watched by everyone”. The president met the demand.
At around 4 p.m., a series of explosions was heard in central Lutsk. Another explosion went off near the bus. The terrorist also opened fire on a police quadcopter flying near the bus.
At around 4:30 p.m., Interior Minister Arsen Avakov arrived at the scene, denied reports that Kryvosh was being treated in a psychiatric hospital, and said the police were trying to resolve the issue peacefully.
Closer to 6 p.m., Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said the terrorist was not allowing food and water to be passed to the hostages or letting them use the toilet. According to him, the situation was difficult, but the police “are still betting on negotiations”.
An hour later, water was delivered to the hostages, as First Deputy Head of the National Police Yevhen Koval was allowed to approach the bus. His second attempt to get close to the bus failed: the terrorist fired, and Koval withdrew. He had been trying to negotiate the release of the child.
Closer to 8 p.m., the terrorist said the hostages were in poor condition: one of them was injured, and there was a pregnant woman and a child. Around 8:40 p.m., Kryvosh released a pensioner, the pregnant woman and the child.
Around 9 p.m., Zelensky met the terrorist’s demand: he posted a video on his social media recommending the 2005 film Earthlings, about the cruel treatment and exploitation of animals by humans, with voiceover narration by Joaquin Phoenix, who played the Joker in the 2019 film of the same name.
Around 9:40 p.m., hostages began leaving the bus. Then an explosion occurred, and an armored personnel carrier with special forces drove up to the bus. The terrorist was detained. All hostages are alive. Twelve hours had passed.
At a briefing after the terrorist’s detention, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko said Kryvosh had released three hostages after speaking with the president. Zelensky spoke with the terrorist for 15 minutes and agreed to free the hostages after the head of state published the video.
At the same briefing, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov noted the successful negotiations by Deputy Head of the National Police Yevhen Koval. The terrorist fired at him, and the bullet passed 15 cm away. Koval said that the terrorist surrendered on his own: he got out of the bus and lay down on the ground.
According to Avakov, Kryvosh has accomplices, one of whom was detained in Kharkiv. Meanwhile, police are tightening security measures in Kyiv and nine regions, deploying additional patrols and the National Guard.
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