Man suspected to be armed takes hostage in Kyiv bank

A man suspected to be armed took a hostage in a bank office in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday but has made no demands yet, deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said.

Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook that the man came to the bank at midday, told employees there he had a bomb in his backpack and asked them to call police.

“Employees of the banking institution left the office while the head of the branch remained there (as hostage). Police have begun negotiations with the terrorist and asked him to surrender,” Gerashchenko said.

Later he told a local television that the man demanded to give interviews to journalists.

It was the third such incident in recent weeks.

Last month, an armed man held 13 people captive on a bus for hours before freeing them. He was arrested..

On July 23 another man took a senior police officer hostage in central Ukrainian city of Poltava before being shot dead by police on Saturday. The hostage was unharmed.