"Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, identified the shooter as a 58-year-old man from the Russian capital, Moscow, and said he had used an automatic weapon to carry out the fatal shooting."
How did he get in Ukraine? Or was he always there?
327
ooheia21 hr ago
+189
CNN article says he was born in Moscow and this article says he was living locally. Pretty ambiguous but seems to suggest that he was living in Ukraine for a considerable amount of time, I can't imagine it being easy for a Russian to emigrate to Ukraine right now.
We'll just have to wait for the following investigation. Personally I'm curious to see if this guy was encouraged by Russian state actors to commit this atrocity.
189
Weightmonster20 hr ago
+72
Before the war there were a lot of Russians living in Kyiv.
72
Diplomatic-Immunityi14 hr ago
-36
There still are. Zelensky’s mother tongue is Russian.
-36
CokeJoke114 hr ago
+41
Lol half the Ukrainian population spoke Russian language as their mother tongue pre-war and a lot of them didn’t have any Russian ancestry and never set foot to Russia. It’s what decades of forced cultural imperialism did to the population. Someone speaking Russian as their mother tongue does not mean they are Russian. Also, Zelensky is a Ukrainian Jew.
41
dimizon12 hr ago
-24
lol Russian ancestry, what are you talking about its the same genetic gene pool. Besides Ukraine as a country didn't technically exist till 1992, so they were always "russian/ukrainan".
It's like comparing two indigenous aboriginal tribes and saying we are special we are different because we leave closer to the sea and wear turtle hats, we not really related to those other tribes....
-24
instasquid12 hr ago
+25
Ukrainians speak Russian the same way the Irish speak English.
Go ahead and tell a Cork lad that it makes him English.
25
Diplomatic-Immunityi10 hr ago
+4
Weren’t Ukraines there first? Russians came from Ukraine? Kievan Rus?
4
Biopain8 hr ago
+1
At the times of kievan Russ there were no such thing as Ukrainians.
1
Lirael_Gold20 hr ago
+43
A significant number of Ukranians have family in Russia, or are descended from Russian workers that moved to Ukraine under the USSR.
There's a reason why until 2014-ish the road signs in most of Ukraine were in Ukrainian *and* Russian
Before the USSR fell, everyone was broadly speaking "Soviet" by citizenship, with nationality referring to ethnic groups.
After 1992*, that "Soviet" citizenship was carved up and replaced by "idk you guys live here now so you're a citizen of this new state, have fun". The fact that hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians moved to east Ukraine during the Soviet era to work in the Donbass is why the conflict ignited in 2014, and is the Casus Belli that Russia used to support the rebels and then expand the war with a full ground invasion.
>Any person who was a permanent resident of Ukraine and held no other citizenship automatically became Ukrainian citizens on 13 November 1991. Individuals who were born in the country, or whose parent or grandparent was born in Ukraine, were also eligible to acquire citizenship
edit: 1991*, the Ukranian SSR started revamping citizenship law as the broader USSR crumbled, but yes, this guy is most likely a russian citizen of Ukraine.
43
Mewhomewhy18 hr ago
+11
Yes Russia has colonised and oppressed Ukraine for a long time.
11
Lirael_Gold17 hr ago
-15
Not really.
Ask a Pole what they think about the UPA.
-15
Sumiklab15 hr ago
+9
You can be both the oppressor and the oppressed in different contexts. Might be shocking for remedials like yourself.
9
Mewhomewhy6 hr ago
+1
Changes nothing dumdum.
1
Dexterus19 hr ago
+7
He was a Ukrainian soldier apparently. Born in Moscow.
Went AWOL from unit.
7
fcking_schmuck18 hr ago
+9
Where did you get this info? Cant find it.
9
bb_kelly7717 hr ago
+1
He lives there, he was in Kyiv because his home in Donetsk has been invaded
1
BeginningPlastic374718 hr ago
+41
damn, a mass shooting in a city that's already getting bombed on a regular basis... Ukraine cannot catch a break.
41
Dusty_Bunny8117 hr ago
+7
what was the motive for the attack?
7
Dusty_Bunny8117 hr ago
+6
if there was one
6
Necessary_Apple_55676 hr ago
+1
It seems like mental breakdown or something. He had criminal records for aggressive behaviour.
1
Gutternips9 hr ago
-2
He was originally from Moscow. Probably recruited by the Russian security services or read too much propaganda.
-2
bb_kelly7717 hr ago
-25
He was ex-Ukrainian Military and he lived in Donetsk, most likely a psychotic break from all the stress
-25
donkeyrocket16 hr ago
+7
Do you have a source for him being ex-Ukrainian military? Nothing I've seen from reputable sources hint at that amount of background or even a whiff of motive.
Closest being NYTimes [interviewing a neighbor who said he lived there for about a decade.](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/world/europe/kyiv-ukraine-mass-shooting-hostages.html)
7
bb_kelly7716 hr ago
-10
I've seen this story like 6 times in as many minutes and they all mention him being ex-Ukrainian military, I find it likely that something said by like 20 different people is true
-10
rift_in_the_warp15 hr ago
+10
wildly naive take in the age of botnets and AI propaganda.
10
Dusty_Bunny8117 hr ago
oh ok
0
TemperateStone19 hr ago
+12
I thought it'd be some PTSD case but it turns out it's just another Russian.
12
bb_kelly7717 hr ago
-21
He's likely not Russian, he's lived in Donetsk and was ex-Ukrainian Military
-21
fcking_schmuck16 hr ago
+10
Its said he lived in occupied part of Donetsk region, part controlled after 2014 invasion.
10
bb_kelly7716 hr ago
-12
Yeah, and we don't know yet how long he's been in Kyiv and how long he was in Donetsk... plus even if he's Russian he might still have been pro-Ukraine
33 Comments