KIEV, Ukraine – Homemade bombs exploded in lockers at two supermarkets in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, wounding as many as 14 people, authorities and news agencies said.
The blasts occurred at about noon in supermarkets near one another in Kharkiv, a duty officer at the Kharkiv Emergency Situations Ministry said, reading from a statement. The explosions apparently occurred in lockers where customers store packages, the ministry said.
Ukraine's Interfax news agency said the bombs were homemade and blew up eight minutes apart.
Emergency officials said two people were injured in one blast, and at least six in another. Ukraine's Interfax news agency said two people were injured in one blast and 12 in the other.
Two of those victims were hospitalized in serious condition, the agency said.
No one answered the phone at the Kharkiv police headquarters. The Interior Ministry confirmed the explosions but said it did not immediately have any other details.
The motive behind the blasts was not immediately clear. Business disputes in Ukraine can turn violent, and Ukrainian media reported that a bomb was found at one of the supermarkets last month.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox