Series of explosions hits Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk

Four explosions have shaken the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk injuring at least 29 people. The blasts struck a series of locations in the city center. Local authorities have begun a terrorist investigation into the incident.

Interfax reports that at least ten children were among the wounded.

The first explosion went off as a crowded tram pulled into a stop injuring five passengers. Local authorities say it was caused by a bomb planted in a nearby rubbish bin.

“The explosion was at a tram stop. The shockwaves smashed the tram’s windows, and the doors buckled on two cars passing by. In one car, the airbags popped out. Police were there in a minute, fire fighters arrived in about five minutes,” writes Master_Tyre, a city web forum user.

Forty minutes afterwards a second explosion was reported close to the city’s railway station, wounding seven while the third hit a park injuring one woman.

Authorities say that the fourth blast struck near the opera house close to the site of the first explosion.

It has been reported that some of the explosions were caused by “incendiary devices” planted in rubbish bins. As a consequence police are systematically removing bins and checking them throughout the city.

Authorities have reportedly begun the full evacuation of the Dnepropetrovsk train station causing a stampede of people towards the exits. Local media says sniffer dogs and members of the bomb squad have arrived at the scene after receiving an anonymous call saying there was a threat of an explosion at the station.

Train services have stopped running until further notice.

Local Ukrainian site vgorode.ua reports widespread panic in the city where people are afraid where the next explosion will occur. Traffic has reportedly ground to a halt in the city center as people flee their offices in an attempt to get home. The city’s police have warned citizens to stay indoors. Interior troops have been deployed in the city.

Telephone networks are down in the city after being inundated with calls of people fearing for the safety of their friends and family. Some news agencies have also suggested authorities may have shutdown networks to curtail possible terrorist activity.

It is unclear exactly how many explosions have hit the city with some local media outlets reporting up to ten.

Ukrainian president Viktor Yankovich has announced the creation of a group of specialists that will investigate the blasts. Moscow will assist in the probe, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

“Our best investigators and detectives will be looking into the incident,” said Yankovich.

Local media reported the first arrests in connection with the explosions, citing the Interior Ministry. But a senior security official denied the reports, saying he was unable to confirm the information about the suspects.

Ukraine is set to host the Euro 2012 football championship in June. Matches will be held in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv. Authorities have already vowed to guarantee security for the event.

UEFA says it will not cancel the upcoming championship, or change its location.

“This event does not change UEFA's confidence in the security measures that have been developed by the authorities in view of UEFA EURO 2012, and which will ensure a smooth and festive tournament,” an official statement read.

­http://rt.com/news/ukraine-dnepropetrovsk-explosion-tram-127/

The ex-PM's hometown was the target. She is imprisoned, reportedly beaten by guards and on hunger strike. The opposition accuses the current PM, a bitter rival of the ex-PM, of orchestrating this chaos to divert attention from the ex-PM. Meanwhile EU leaders are considering boycotting June soccer matches in Ukraine.

excuse my stupidity but,is the ukraine subject to this on a regular basis(ie the same as northern island although quieter now).its something i or we dont see on the news here.
is the ukraine troubled with these kinds of acts before.

[QUOTE] [b]david (galashiels) wrote:[/b]
excuse my stupidity but,is the ukraine subject to this on a regular basis(ie the same as northern island although quieter now).its something i or we dont see on the news here.
is the ukraine troubled with these kinds of acts before.[/QUOTE]
Well, kinda. We'd had such accidents before.

When the UEFA championship was given to Poland and the Ukraine, there was a lot of hope for a democratic way of the Ukraine. Now with Viktor Janukowitschs in power the Ukraine seems to be on a way towards a dictatorship with the controversial trial of Julia Timoschenko and the dubious circumstances of treating/not treating her health problems in prison only being a prominemt symptom.

German President Gauck and Czech President Klaus already cancelled scheduled visits to the country and European politicians plan to boycot the games because they do not want to be photographed with Janukowitsch. It is very sad that the eagerly awaited championship is overshadowed by these severe human rights violations.

[QUOTE] [b]YourValentine wrote:[/b]
When the UEFA championship was given to Poland and the Ukraine, there was a lot of hope for a democratic way of the Ukraine. Now with Viktor Janukowitschs in power the Ukraine seems to be on a way towards a dictatorship with the controversial trial of Julia Timoschenko and the dubious circumstances of treating/not treating her health problems in prison only being a prominemt symptom.
German President Gauck and Czech President Klaus already cancelled scheduled visits to the country and European politicians plan to boycot the games because they do not want to be photographed with Janukowitsch. It is very sad that the eagerly awaited championship is overshadowed by these severe human rights violations.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately OUR president didn't cancel it even when he was requested to do so :-(

I agree that the way Timoschenko is treated is below all standards of human decency. However, I increasingly get the idea that people believe she is innocent of the charges against her simply because the people charging her are such bastards. It doesn't work like that - I don't know if all charges are true, but abuse of power and corruption certainly are. As you might remember, the EU complained about that when she was in office, but we've all forgotten since she left...

Everybody here knows that Timoschenko is innocent. She's been thrown to jail for nothing.

Yanukovych and his pals are the only ones who must be arrested for stealing money and committing crimes.

Having been a president for the past two years, he has done nothing good to our country. He's only stolen lots of money and destroyed the country.

The way Timoschenko is treated is probably the worst you could ever find.

If Yanukovych hadn't won two years ago, our country wouldn't have been that fucking bad now.
That's why lots of crimes are committed here.

I do not know if Julia Timoschenko is innoocent. I am pretty sure the trial was a politically motivated farce, though. It throws a big shadow over the joy we feel about the championship. I do not agree with people who want to move the games away from the Ukraine because the people of the Ukraine are not to blame. I do believe that our politicians must boycot and not grace this quasi-dictator with their presence. Bad news for Angela Merkel who loves to see the national team play :-)

What disgusts me utterly, is that we can feign outrage over this, but we totally ignore the complete dictatorship in Belarus. In the Ukraine, there is a politically motivated trial of one politician who may or may not be guilty. In Belarus, a neo-fascist dictator is oppressing his people and torturing them by the thousands. Where is your outrage now, Lostman? You obviously don't have a clue.

[QUOTE] [b]thomasquinn 32989 wrote:[/b]
What disgusts me utterly, is that we can feign outrage over this, but we totally ignore the complete dictatorship in Belarus. In the Ukraine, there is a politically motivated trial of one politician who may or may not be guilty. In Belarus, a neo-fascist dictator is oppressing his people and torturing them by the thousands. Where is your outrage now, Lostman? You obviously don't have a clue.[/QUOTE]
What clue are you talking about?

To be honest, I didn't get it.

You want to say that I'm wrong when I say that Yanukovych is guilty because he's ruined the Ukraine? Or am I wrong when I say that Timoschenko is innocent?

Actually, I get it as Belarus is doing worse than Ukraine. Right? If you came to live in the Ukraine for about a few weeks, you would say something completely different.

I'm saying you're wrong when you say that Timoschenko is innocent - she's as corrupt as all the rest of the bunch, as goes for most countries.

And yes, Belarus is doing considerably worse than Ukraine. You're posting on QueenZone, and you aren't in jail yet, are you? That alone proves you're not in Belarus.

Nobody can prove who's guilty and who's not.

Having said that, why are Yanukovych and his band not in jail? If Timoschenko is thrown in jail for stealing money (as everybody says), why Yanukovych isn't?

This again proves how bad the Ukraine's position is.

@Lostman:
Because Yanukovych is in office, and Timoschenko is not. Had she been in office, we'd now be complaining about how badly Yanukovych is being treated in prison.

You seem obsessed with how bad things are in your country. That's a luxury issue - people in Holland, in England, in Germany, in the US complain too, but we (and you) still have it a hell of a lot better than an estimated 80% of the world's population.

When was the last time you were threatened with imminent starvation? When did cholera last decimate your village? How often do armed mobs plunder your hometown? Are drug dealers murdering thousands every year? Has there been a war near your home in your lifetime?

If you answered any of the above with 'no', count your blessings. It means you're not in Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia or any of a host of other countries were people are actually dying by the thousands. We in Europe have nothing serious to complain about.

[QUOTE]

[b]thomasquinn 32989 wrote: [/b] I'm saying you're wrong when you say that Timoschenko is innocent - she's as corrupt as all the rest of the bunch, as goes for most countries.

And yes, Belarus is doing considerably worse than Ukraine. You're posting on QueenZone, and you aren't in jail yet, are you? That alone proves you're not in Belarus.[/QUOTE]

How can you blame Lostman for criticising his own government and not Belarus instead? That makes no sense. Also, the fact that he is not in jail does not disprove his opinion at all.

Certainly, many politicians in any country deserve to be prosecuted for corruption but there is a huge difference between a trial following legal principles and a politically motivated spectacle with subsequent jail conditions which are totally inacceptable. It is true that the public usually takes more notice when a prominent person is affected.

Funny recent incident with Lukashenko:

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/9122050/Better-to-be-a-dictator-than-be-gay-declares-Belarus-leader.html]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/9122050/Better-to-be-a-dictator-than-be-gay-declares-Belarus-leader.html[/url]