Four-year-old girl kidnapped near Kiev as mother pays for petrol

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A young girl was abducted at a Ukrainian gas station on the evening of Friday, August 28, as her mother was paying inside, prompting a search that led to the suspect's arrest and the recovery of the child within two hours, unharmed, authorities said.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Saturday released this footage from the gas station in Boryspil, a city about 18 miles southeast of the capital, that shows a man lifting the four-year-old infant and placing her inside the back seat of a white vehicle, before he steps into the driver's seat and pulls away.

It then cuts to scenes following the rescue showing the girl being reunited with her parents.

Kiev Regional Police Andrey Nebitov said the abduction was reported at around 8 pm, and a manhunt was immediately launched involving local, regional, and Kiev city police.

The suspect, a 29-year-old local man, was apprehended less than two hours later and "confessed to police that he had kidnapped a child with criminal intent", the interior ministry said.

Writing on Facebook, Nebitov thanked police officers and others who helped in the search, telling them he was sure they had managed to prevent a "much more heinous sexual offence."

Despite that, the interior ministry said the man is suspected of three crimes, including rape. He faces up to 15 years in prison, the ministry said.