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Training grenade explodes in popular Kyiv cafe, no injuries reported

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Training grenade explodes in popular Kyiv cafe, no injuries reported
The scene after a training grenade exploded in Zigzag, a cafe in Kyiv, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Kristina Berdynskykh/Facebook)

A training grenade was detonated in a popular cafe in the center of Kyiv on Aug. 14, causing a loud explosion, locals present said. There were no injuries or damage to the cafe, an employee told the Kyiv Independent.

Zigzag, the cafe where the explosion occurred, is located in Kyiv's central Golden Gate neighborhood and is a popular establishment in the area with both locals and foreigners.

Kristina Berdynskykh, who was at Zigzag at the time of the explosion, told the Kyiv Independent that she was sitting at a table and saw a man with something in his hands at the bar.

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Footage of the explosion at Zigzag cafe on Aug. 14, 2024. (Zigzag/Facebook)

"At first, it was a small sound," Berdynskykh said, "and then (a) huge explosion."

A bartender told Berdynskykh that a man had brought the grenade to the bar. The man left before the police arrived, who said they discovered fragments of the grenade after they arrived.

Berdynskykh said she still had the sound of the explosion ringing in her ears after she left the cafe.

The cafe stayed open after the explosion and locals reported that diners remained inside even as the police investigated the incident.

Ukrainska Pravda wrote, citing sources in law enforcement, that there was no currently no indication of malicious intent connected to the explosion.

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Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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