(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday
promised a swift investigation into Friday’s bomb blasts in the city of Dnipropetrovsk that injured 30 people just weeks
ahead of the European soccer championship which Ukraine co-hosts.
Four bombs planted in trash bins in various downtown locations exploded at short intervals in the
city of 1.3 million on Friday afternoon, in what prosecutors said was an “act of terrorism”.
“We understand well that
we must find the criminals as soon as possible and they must be punished,” Yanukovich said after meeting top law enforcement
officials in Dnipropetrovsk where he arrived on Saturday.
“We must understand what motivations and goals this crime
had.”
Yanukovich said city authorities would pay 2 million hryvnias ($250,000) for any information that would help
find the bombers.
The president and other officials declined to say what direction the investigation was
taking.
The attack, a rare event in the peaceful ex-Soviet republic, has unsettled authorities who are preparing to
host the Euro-2012 soccer championship together with Poland.
Dnipropetrovsk, an important industrial and technological
hub and the birthplace of many of Ukraine’s political elite, is not a championship venue itself. It is located about 150
miles away from Donetsk which will host several games.
The bombings have also added to political tension in Ukraine,
already high following last year’s conviction of Yanukovich’s opponent, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, on
abuse-of-office charges and a fresh tax evasion trial against her.
The government and the opposition have traded
accusations of seeking to exploit the blast for political purposes.
In Dnipropetrovsk, where regular police have been
reinforced by interior troops and large-scale public gatherings have been barred, many were recovering from the
shock.
“I live in Israel and such explosions are not new to me but I was shocked to see a familiar picture here: a
blast-hit tram and bloodied people,” said 50-year-old Alexander Mogilyev.
Ukraine’s healthcare ministry said in a
statement on Saturday 22 people were still in hospital, three them in grave condition.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk;
Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Sophie Hares)
