LUTSK, Ukraine – A tense hostage situation on a bus in western Ukraine has ended without casualties after a standoff with police and after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with the hostage-taker by phone and agreed to one of his demands.
Police arrested the suspected hostage taker, whom the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) identified as 44-year-old Maksym Kryvosh and said he had propagated “extremist views.”
Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov said Mr. Kryvosh was armed with guns and a grenade, adding to the concerns of security forces during the 12-hour standoff.