Police have found a car with explosives parked near the Arkadiya shopping mall at 33, Dniprovska Embankment in Kyiv at around 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, 12 November, according to Anton Herashchenko, an adviser for the interior minister.
He said on Facebook that police found people sitting in a VW Passat with Transcarpathian registration suspicious and decided to check the car. They found a rucksack containing around 6 kg of plastic explosive and 15 detonators, all ready for an immediate use.
Both persons from the car were detained.
Herashchenko said they did not have either documents or communication devices with them. They are allegedly not cooperating with investigation.
Later the communications department of the Kyiv police specified that there were 6.5 kg of plastic explosive in five blocks and 10 electric detonators.
On Kyiv police chief Andriy Kryshchenko's order, all foot and car patrols were put on alert. The National Guard allocated 200 servicemen to help police efforts.
According to journalist Yuriy Butusov, the detainees are Mukacheve residents and citizens of Ukraine.
"A nephew came in his uncle's car. For communication, he had a phone with IMEI set to zero, which means it was not a regular device but the one which was reworked by a specialist not to share its virtual cell. In theory, you can buy something like this on a radio market but why? The SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] is already working near Arkadiya. I'm curious to see them in court," Butusov said on Facebook.
A booby-trapped motorcycle exploded near the office of Espreso TV in Kyiv on 25 October, killing two and wounding three.