2015 Kharkiv Bombing

On 22 February 2015, a bomb exploded during a planned "March of Unity" rally in Kharkiv, Ukraine, marking the anniversary of the previous year's Euromaidan-related events. The march had begun near the Palace of Sports and was heading toward Freedom Square when, at approximately 1:20 p.m., an explosive device detonated as the column of marchers passed roughly 100 meters from the site. According to the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor, the device was an anti-personnel mine equipped with a radio-controlled detonator, with a TNT equivalent of about 2 kilograms. The Security Service of Ukraine stated the explosive had been concealed in a snowdrift the night before the attack.

The explosion immediately killed Kharkiv Euromaidan activist Ihor Tolmachev and police lieutenant colonel Vadym Rybalchenko, and injured eleven other people. Danylo Didyk, a 15-year-old who suffered a severe brain injury in the blast, died the following day after falling into a coma. Mykola Melnychuk, an 18-year-old student, died on 24 February from his injuries, bringing the confirmed death toll to four. A passing Gazelle van reportedly absorbed some shrapnel from the blast, which was credited with reducing the number of casualties.

The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office opened criminal proceedings, and the Security Service of Ukraine launched an anti-terrorist operation in the city. Officials stated that four suspects, described as members of an underground group called the "Kharkiv Partisans," were detained shortly after the attack, and a weapon (an RPO-A "Shmel") was seized from them; authorities alleged the group had been planning further attacks on the same day targeting clubs and shopping malls. 23 February was declared a day of mourning in Kharkiv.

On 22 April 2015, an indictment was filed against three suspects — Viktor Tetyutky (also spelled Tetyutsk), Volodymyr Dvornikov, and Serhiy Bashlykov — with the Frunzensky District Court of Kharkiv. The trial proceeded over several years, with prosecutors later stating in 2017 that the defense had used delaying tactics across dozens of court hearings. On 28 December 2019, the court sentenced all three men to life imprisonment with confiscation of property. Despite the sentence, their precautionary measure was changed to "personal obligation" due to cited "exceptional circumstances," and on 29 December 2019 they were released and handed over to representatives of the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics" as part of a prisoner exchange linked to the December 2019 Normandy Summit agreement. A lawyer representing victims' families objected to the extradition as politically motivated rather than legally justified.

Separately, in January 2017, Ukraine filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Russia concerning alleged acts of terrorism and discrimination during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, listing the Kharkiv attack among the incidents cited. A memorial to the victims was unveiled at the bombing site on 22 February 2016.