Ukrainian Man Who Took 13 People Hostage Sent To Pretrial Detention

LUTSK, Ukraine -- A Ukrainian man, who was detained on July 21 after he held 13 people hostage inside a bus with a firearm and explosives in the northwestern town of Lutsk for 12 hours, has been sent to pretrial detention.

A court in Lutsk ruled on July 23 that 44-year-old Maksym Kryvosh must be held for at least 60 days.

Kryvosh, a native of the city of Dubno and a resident of Lutsk who has a criminal record and was once treated at a psychiatric center, said at the hearing that the hostage-taking was "a performance."

Kryvosh's lawyer told reporters that his client will not appeal the ruling.

According to police, while holding hostages, Kryvosh ranted against "the system" in his negotiations, called the nation's oligarchs and officials "terrorists," and demanded that people watch the 2005 documentary film Earthlings about the suffering endured by animals at farms, research labs, and other locations.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a short video on Facebook recommending that people watch the documentary. The video was removed from Facebook right after Kryvosh was detained. Nobody was hurt in 12-hour ordeal.