Horrifying footage captures the exact moment a politician from Ukraine casually detonated three grenades at a tense village council meeting on Friday, December 15, wounding a minimum of 26 people in an incident that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.
The event happened on Friday, around 90 minutes into a livestreamed meeting at the Keretsky Village Council in the Western Zakarpattia area of Ukraine.
As tensions were rising at a council meeting, a man in black was seen entering the room in a Facebook video released by the police. The video clip shows the man and others with somewhat obscured faces at the meeting. In a statement, police said: "[Twenty-six] people were wounded, six of whom are in a grave condition," as reported by CBS News.
Multiple Explosions
A man, whose identity was subsequently revealed to be Deputy Serhiy Batryn, a member of parliament from Ukraine, entered the council offices during the budget discussion, according to a brief video released by the Ukrainian National Police. According to the New York Post, he eventually asks, "May I speak?" before taking out three hand grenades from his jacket pockets and dropping them on the floor.
As the lights and blasts of the explosives fill the council room with heavy smoke and cries of pain, stunned witnesses leap to their feet and take cover. Amidst the chaos, the harrowing cries of a lady in Ukrainian can be heard: "I can't walk!"
After the explosion, pictures surfaced showing blood on the floor and furniture that had been flipped over.
The explosions caused injuries to 26 individuals, with 6 of them being admitted to the hospital in critical condition, as reported by authorities.
In what seems to be a terrorist attack, the Ukrainian Security Service is conducting investigations into the blasts.
Despite early reports of Batryn's death, authorities later emphasized that physicians were trying to save his life.
Heated Meeting
The village's budget for 2024 came up for approval at Friday's council session, but Batryn, a deputy from the Servant of the People Party of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that he and his colleagues should provide a comprehensive report first on the 2023 budget before discussing the 2024 budget.
According to the news Telegram channel Zakarpattya24, Batryn also had a long-standing quarrel with Mikhail Mushka, the village chief.
While the conflict was ongoing, Batryn reportedly voted against giving Mushka a 50% rise and a monthly bonus. He was also against considering the village chief to have done an acceptable job.
During the height of the budget discussion, Batryn left the council offices and came back less than three minutes later to set off the explosives.
On suspicion of unlawful possession or use of firearms or ammunition, the national police have initiated a criminal investigation.
