KYIV, Ukraine — The moral fallout from Saturday’s supermarket massacre in Kyiv has claimed its first high-level casualty. Yevhen Zhukov, the decorated head of Ukraine’s Patrol Police Department, submitted his resignation Sunday evening, citing the “shameful” conduct of his subordinates who were caught on video fleeing the scene of a mass shooting that left six people dead.
The resignation follows a wave of public fury after social media footage appeared to show two uniformed patrol officers running away from a gunman in the Holosiivskyi district, leaving civilians—including a 12-year-old child—unprotected as the shooter opened fire with a carbine.
“I Think It Will Be Fair”
Zhukov, a former paratrooper and famed “Cyborg” defender of Donetsk Airport in 2014, addressed the media in a somber briefing. He did not mince words regarding the video evidence that has gripped a nation already hardened by years of war.
“As a combat officer, I have decided to submit a report for dismissal from the position I hold. I think it will be fair,” Zhukov said. “The actions of those two officers were shameful. ‘To serve and protect’ is not just a slogan; it is a duty that was failed.”
While Zhukov will remain in the law enforcement system—likely transitioning to a role more directly tied to the war effort—his departure marks a significant blow to a department he has led since 2015.
The Video That Sparked a Crisis
The controversy centers on a 45-second clip recorded by a resident from a nearby apartment. In the footage, the shooter—identified as 57-year-old Dmytro Vasylchenkov—can be seen firing a KelTec carbine on the street. As the shots ring out, two patrol officers are seen turning and sprinting in the opposite direction of the gunman, disappearing behind a building while bystanders scrambled for cover.
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has launched a criminal inquiry into official negligence. Prosecutors are investigating whether the officers’ flight constituted a desertion of duty that directly led to the death of a fifth victim inside the Velmart supermarket, where the gunman subsequently barricaded himself with hostages.
Zelenskyy Orders a “Full Review”
The scandal has reached the highest levels of the Ukrainian government. In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he had received a detailed report from Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and ordered an immediate overhaul of police protocols.
“They were required to act in those circumstances,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the officers who fled. “A full review of the work of the patrol officers will be conducted. This includes recruitment, training, and the chain of command. Every manager responsible for these individuals will be held accountable.”
Klymenko added that the response of the two officers was “a disgrace for the entire system,” though he praised the special tactical units that eventually stormed the supermarket and neutralized the killer.
A Community in Mourning
In the Holosiivskyi district, residents have turned the sidewalk outside the supermarket into a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles. For a city that has endured countless Russian drone and missile strikes, the internal failure of the police has proved uniquely painful.
“We expect the police to be our shield when the sky isn’t falling,” said one local resident. “To see them run while children were in the line of fire… it breaks something in the heart of the city.”
The 12-year-old boy wounded in the initial street shooting remains in stable condition, but doctors say his recovery will be long. As for the police force, the recovery may take even longer as the SBI prepares to file formal charges against the officers whose retreat became a national tragedy.