RT reported that at the request of the gunman, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recorded a short video and posted it online. At this time, the arrest of 20 hostages on the bus in Lutsk city had taken place for 9 hours.
In his video, President Zelensky said: ''Earthlings' filmography', in 2005. You have to see, everyone's got to do exactly as the gunman demands.
While giving in at the request of a terrorist could be a controversial strategy, it seems to have paid off in this case. Immediately after President Zelensky's actions, the gunman released three hostages and handed them over to the police. After that, he continued to release the remaining players. The police controlled and arrested the suspect.
After the incident ended, President Zelensky thanked everyone involved in the hostage rescue, stressing that he was particularly happy that no one died in the chaos. The President also deleted the posted video.
The bus hostage began early on July 21, when the man, identified as Maksim Krivosh, 44, stepped in and controlled all the people in the bus. At that time, there were about 20 passengers on the bus.
Social media images show the attackers were armed with a short-range AK assault rifle, a self-propelled gun and at least two bombs, one of which appears to be a model for training.
The hostage took the bus and called the police immediately after controlling it, introducing himself as Maksim Plokhoy. He also made demands on top Ukrainian officials, forcing them to film videos claiming to be legal terrorists and calling on the president to promote the documentary Earthlings, which began in 2005 for animal cruelty.
Ukrainian police said the suspect had been in prison for more than 10 years for a series of crimes, including fraud, robbery, blackmail and illegal possession of weapons.
