A gunman opened fire in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Saturday, killing six people and wounding more than a dozen others, authorities said.

Five people were killed instantly and a young woman died in hospital from wounds sustained in the shooting. The gunman himself was also killed.

The assailant also took hostages. He was shot dead after security forces spent 40 minutes in negotiations with him.

"My condolences to the families and the loved ones," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response to the deadly attack.

What do we know about the shooting in Ukraine?

Speaking in his nightly video address, President Zelenskyy said the mass shooting happened in the city's leafy Holosiivskyi district, adding that 14 people had been injured. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said authorities had launched a "special operation" to apprehend the assailant, who he said had entered a supermarket. 

The shooting "resulted in injuries and several fatalities," Klitschko said.

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said one of the wounded was a 12-year-old boy whose parents were killed in the attack.

Televised footage of the scene showed police taking cover in the shopping mall that housed the supermarket while shots were fired.

Bystanders were escorted away from the scene.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later declared that the gunman was killed during an attempt to arrest him. 

"The gunman was killed during his arrest in Kyiv," Klymenko said on social media, adding that the suspect "had taken people hostage and fired at police officers during the arrest."

Klymenko also described how the suspect attacked his victims.

"He was simply shooting people at close range. He approached and shot them," Klymenko said. "So people had very little ​chance of survival."

What do we know about the Kyiv gunman?

President Zelenskyy said the gunman was born in Russia and that "all the circumstances are being established" to piece together a motive for the attack.

Prosecutor General Kravchenko said the shooter had been born in Moscow in 1958.

Local media said the attacker is believed to hold Ukrainian citizenship and to have lived in the Donbas region for a long time. Donbas is one of the focal points for the ongoing war with Russia.

Klymenko said he had a registered firearm, while Zelenskyy said he had a criminal record. He also said the suspect had set fire to his apartment before launching his shooting spree.

Zelenskyy initially said at least five people were killed, adding: "My condolences to the families and the loved ones."

"Everything that can be known about him and why he did this is being clarified. Every detail needs to be checked," Zelenskyy added. "The investigators have several versions. All his electronic devices, phone, all contacts will be checked."

Ukraine's SBU ‌security ⁠service has designated the incident as a "terrorist act."

Shootings are rare in Ukraine.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery