Posted June 27, 2017 23:29:51

Photo: Investigators work at the scene of a car bomb explosion that killed Colonel Maxim Shapoval. (Reuters: Valentyn Ogirenko)

A colonel in Ukraine's military intelligence has been killed by a car bomb in central Kiev, the Defence Ministry says, in an attack it described as a "terrorist act".

Police said an explosive device in the vehicle blew up while the car was moving on Tuesday morning (local time), killing the driver and wounding a passer-by.

"As a result of [the explosion] a member of the Defence Ministry's main intelligence department Colonel Maksim Shapoval was killed," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The police and the ministry did not give further details or say who could be behind the attack.

Since fighting with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine broke out in 2014, the number of incidents involving explosives outside the conflict zone has increased, but car bombs are relatively rare.

The last major incident in Kiev occurred in July 2016, when prominent investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by the detonation of an explosive device in his car.

Reuters

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, ukraine