411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
2012 Dnipropetrovsk explosions
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
2012 explosions in Ukraine
April 2019
2012 Dnipropetrovsk explosions Four tram stations in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine Public transport system and users 27 April 2012 between 11:50 and 13:00 EET IED 0 26Bomb blasts injure 26 people in eastern Ukraine BNO News 28 April 2012 http://www.bnonews.com/inbox/?id=616 28 April 2012 https://archive.today/20130119222706/http://www.bnonews.com/inbox/?id=616 19 January 2013 dead Belarus is ready to help Ukraine to investigate the terrorist actions Ukrayinska Pravda 27 April 2012 http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2012/04/28/6963702/ 28 April 2012–29
The 2012 Dnipropetrovsk explosions were a series of co-ordinated explosions in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro), Ukraine on 27 April 2012. The bombs went off between 11:50 and 13:00 near four tram stations.Ukraine Explosions: Three Blasts Reported The attackers' motivations are not publicly known.
Background
Ukraine has not been afflicted with political terrorism, but there had been previous explosions connected to criminal extortion; in a previous attack in January 2011, two pre-dawn explosions outside an office of a coal mining company and then a shopping center in the Ukrainian city of Makiivka caused no casualties. Authorities then received letters demanding money in exchange for an end to the blasts. The perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/opposition-suggests-government-were-behind-ukraine-bomb-attacks-in-dnipropetrovsk-7684667.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/opposition-suggests-government-were-behind-ukraine-bomb-attacks-in-dnipropetrovsk-7684667.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Opposition suggests government were behind Ukraine bomb attacks in 27 April 2012 The IndependentAppeals court upholds sentence for 'Makiyivka terrorists', Kyiv Post (30 December 2011)
The Dnipropetrovsk attacks came 40 days ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012 games, hosted in Poland and Ukraine. This raised security concerns over the safety of the games,https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ukraine-bomb-blasts-euro-2012-809739 Euro 2012 fans' fear as bombs rock Ukraine city Tom Parry 27 April 2012 mirrorUkraine Bomb Blasts Scores Injured, guardian.co.uk, 27 April 2012 though no match was actually scheduled to be held in Dnipropetrovsk. UEFA anyway dismissed any hypothesis of moving the championship anywhere else because of security reasons.November 2020 Hryhoriy Surkis, head of the Football Federation of Ukraine declared he believed the blasts aimed "to torpedo the tournament in Ukraine at all costs and compromise our country in the eyes of the international community." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk remarked: "This issue [tournament security] needs to be treated with the utmost seriousness".http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/13543138/ukrainian-president-visits-blast-scene/ AFP-Yahoo 1 May 2012 https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171019080802/https://thewest.com.au/?r=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/13543138/ukrainian-president-visits-blast-scene/ 19 October 2017 dead
Chronology of the attacks
On 27 April, beginning at around 11:50, four home-made bombs went off in different locations within Dnipropetrovsk. The first bomb went at 11:50 a.m. local time and the last bomb went off at 1:00 pm. The bombs were all placed in trashcans near four tram stations, belonging to the same line:Emergency Message for US Citizens, osac.gov
The first bomb exploded at 11:50 am. It was placed in a trash can in a tram stop near the Dnipro Opera and Ballet Theatre, and exploded as the tram was slowing to pick up passengers. The bomb injured 13 people and shattered the windows of the tram and a nearby car.
The second bomb exploded 30 minutes later. The bomb was placed in a trashcan near the Rodina cinema and injured 11 people, nine of them children.
The third bomb exploded shortly after the second one. It was placed in the Ostrovsky Square. Three people were injured, and there were no reported fatalities.
The fourth bomb went off at the same tram station as the first one. No one was injured.
Minutes after the explosion, panic began spreading in Dnipropetrovsk. People remained in their offices following a rumor that there were more blasts coming. Students remained at school. Several buildings were placed into "lockdown mode".Ukraine city Dnip-vsk hit by blasts, bbc.co.uk
Internet connections in the area went down for hours after the explosions. Telephone networks jammed up quickly, and as of 28 April, telephone companies were still struggling to restore functionality to their networks. Furthermore, Ukrainian authorities jammed the signal in certain parts of the city, in response to the theory that the bombs may have been triggered by cellphones.http://focus-fen.net/news/0000/00/00/276677/ FOCUS Information Agency FOCUS Information Agency
Victims
Ukraine's Emergencies Ministry initially reported that 27 people were injured, but authorities revised the figure to 26 the day after the explosions. Among those injured were 9 teenagers. 27 people remained in the hospital as of 28 April, including three who were in serious condition.
According to security experts interviewed by Interfax, the nature of the injuries received by the victims suggests that the devices did not contain damaging elements, and the resulting injuries were probably caused by the debris of trash bins and other items.Вибухи в Дніпропетровську повинні були налякати, а не пошкодити? Українська правда uk
Investigations
The authorities reported that several suspects were placed under arrest.Four bomb blasts hit Eastern Ukraine ahead of Euro 2012 Matches, nationalpost.com, 27 April 2012
On 27 April the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych assembled a committee to carry out an investigation of the explosions, with members including Viktor Pshonka, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine; Chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine, Igor Kalinin; Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Raisa Bohatyryova; and Serhiy Lyovochkin, Head of the Presidential Administration.http://elvisti.com/node/111187 ru:В Днепропетровске состоялось заседание штаба по расследованию взрывов elvisti.com 28 April 2012 Russian
The Dnipropetrovsk regional prosecutor opened a criminal case on counts of terrorism.https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/dnipropetrovsk-bombings-qualified-as-terror-attack-126744.html Dnipropetrovsk bombings qualified as terror attacks – Apr. 27, 2012 27 April 2012 KyivPost The criminal case on the grounds of an offense under Part 2 of Art. 258 of the Criminal Code (terrorist act), was transferred to the organization of pre-trial investigation in the investigative unit of the central apparatus of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).http://www.gp.gov.ua/ua/news.html?_m=publications&_c=view&_t=rec&id=105352 uk:Кримінальну справу передано до СБУ Генеральна прокуратура України. Офіційний інтернет-портал 27 April 2012 Ukrainian In April 2012 SBU investigators sought three men on suspicion of committing a crime, whose sketch were created and published.http://ssu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=111862&cat_id=39574 uk:УВАГА РОЗШУК! Служба безпеки України. Офіційний інтернет-портал 29 April 2012 uk https://web.archive.org/web/20120920040752/http://www.ssu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/index/ 20 September 2012 dead It is known that they were all men. One of them was about 30 years, another about 40, the third from 35 to 45 years.http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/world/Sostavleny-fotoroboty-trex-podozrevaemyx-vo-vzryvax-v-Dnepropetrovske_i_596142.html ru:Составлены фотороботы трех подозреваемых во взрывах в Днепропетровске БелТА 30 April 2012 ru https://web.archive.org/web/20140815041636/http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/world/Sostavleny-fotoroboty-trex-podozrevaemyx-vo-vzryvax-v-Dnepropetrovske_i_596142.html 15 August 2014 dead In May 2012 police officers arrested four residents of Dnipropetrovsk. According to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Pshonka this arrest closed the criminal case and it had solved the crime.Pshonka: Case on Dnipropetrovsk blasts solved, mercenary motives were found, Kyiv Post (1 June 2012) All 4 men were also accused of organizing three terrorist attacks in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia in October–November 2011. Lev Prosvirnin and Dmytro Reva were charged with a terrorist attack committed on preliminary collusion by a group of persons. Prosvirnin and Reva pleaded not guilty.One of 'Dnipropetrovsk terrorists' pled victim in case on falsified testimonies against him, Interfax-Ukraine (27 March 2013) According to the SBU the men "did not agree with the social and political regime in Ukraine. They wanted to cause chaos and provoke protests of the public against authorities. They also insist that their goal was to frustrate the hosting of Euro 2012 in Ukraine".Dnipropetrovsk bombers wanted to frustrate Euro 2012 in Ukraine, says SBU, Kyiv Post (20 October 2012) The prosecutor's office in Dnipropetrovsk opened in March 2013 criminal proceedings because Reva had complained against falsified testimonies against him. Late February 2013 the European Court of Human Rights received a complaint from lawyers for Reva against long-term groundless detention.Lawyers for defendant in 'Dnipropetrovsk terrorists' case file complaint at ECHR against unlawful detention, Interfax-Ukraine (27 February 2013) Prosvirnin and Reva were released on 11 March 2014 after the court removed their charges.https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/euromaidan/men-falsely-charged-with-terrorism-released-after-two-years-in-jail-339172.html Men falsely charged with terrorism released after two years in jail – Mar. 13, 2014 13 March 2014 KyivPosthttp://espreso.tv/new/2014/03/11/dvokh_dnipropetrovskykh_terorystiv_zvilnyly_v_zali_sudu Двох «дніпропетровських терористів» звільнили в залі суду 1 August 2014 https://archive.today/20140806040353/http://espreso.tv/new/2014/03/11/dvokh_dnipropetrovskykh_terorystiv_zvilnyly_v_zali_sudu 6 August 2014 dead
Reactions
In Ukraine
Government officials
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich declared "We... understand that this is another challenge to us, to the whole country. We will think how to respond accordingly.https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/yanukovych-dnipropetrovsk-blasts-are-challenge-for-126745.html Yanukovych: Dnipropetrovsk blasts are 'challenge' for the country – Apr. 27, 2012 27 April 2012 KyivPost Speaking in Dnipropetrovsk on 28 April, Yanukovich offered 200.000 euro to citizens able to provide the authorities with useful information on the authors of the attack.Euronews
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov declared that the explosions "are profitable to those forces that are interested in destabilizing the situation in the country.".Huffington Post
Mykola Tomenko, deputy parliament speaker and member of the opposition, suggested the blasts were orchestrated by the government in order to quiet Western criticism of Yulia Tymoshenko's imprisonment: "I don't rule out that the authorities and law enforcement bodies may be among the organizers of a scenario, which involves deflecting the attention of the world and Ukraine form Tymoshenko's case on the whole and her beating in particular." Volodymyr Yavorivsky, head of the Culture Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament and member of the opposition, accused the government parties to have staged the attack in order to jeopardize the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election and install an authoritarian regime.
Experts and analysts
According to Vadim Karasev, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Global Strategies, the blasts might have been prepared by the secret services in order to spread panic, fear, and confusion in Dnipropetrovsk and in Ukraine. This strategy of tension might be instrumental in limiting political activism and oppositional mobilization in Ukraine under the pretext of terrorism.East Journal, 29 April 2012 it
Kirill Frolov, director of the Ukraine desk of the Institute for the studies of the CIS countries, supported the hypothesis of political motivation for the attack, but also condemned the cynicism of the opposition accusing the government of the attack. According to Frolov, the Yanukovich regime did not need such an event, as his political manifesto for the upcoming elections would be based on the good conduct of UEFA Euro 2012.La Voce della Russia, 29 April 2012 it
Abroad
Matthew Rojansky, on CNN, suggested several possible motivations for the attack, ranging from random acts of violence, or the work of gangs from Ukraine's criminal underworld and endlessly feuding oligarchs, to international terrorism linked to al-Qa'eda, up to the eventual involvement of Russian secret services.http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/27/whats-behind-the-bombings-in-ukraine/ https://archive.today/20130102083024/http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/27/whats-behind-the-bombings-in-ukraine/ dead 2 January 2013 What's behind the bombings in Ukraine?
See also
2011 Minsk Metro bombing
2010 Moscow Metro bombings
Sources
2
External links
ru Explosions in Dnipropetrovsk: chronology of events, versions
Category:2012 crimes in Ukraine
Category:April 2012 crimes in Europe
Category:April 2012 in Ukraine
Category:History of Dnipro
Category:Terrorist incidents in Ukraine in the 2010s
Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 2012
Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in 2012
Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in Ukraine
Category:Terrorist incidents on railway systems in Europe
Category:Attacks on railway stations in Europe
Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Ukraine
Category:Railway accidents in 2012
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Ukraine
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 2012
Category:Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators
Category:Tram transport in Ukraine