An unidentified man shot a man and a woman on Esplanadna Street in downtown Kyiv on Friday evening, the press service of the National Police told Interfax-Ukraine.

The man and the woman were taken to hospital in critical condition. The police recovered bullet cartridges from the crime scene.

"The incident took place today, December 30, at 19:25. The Pechersky Police Department received a report of a shooting on the Esplanadna Street. Having arrived at the scene, police officers found that an unknown man phoned in on the intercom of the mobile phone accessories sales office. The attacker demanded money, but having been refused made several shots from unidentified automatic weapons into a man and a woman, and then fled. An investigative team is working at the scene. Police officers are establishing all the circumstances of the incident and taking steps to identify and arrest the attacker," the press service of Kyiv police told Interfax-Ukraine.