Ukraine confirmed on Monday that a Russian missile strike on a military training ground over the weekend resulted in casualties and injuries, adding that authorities had launched a criminal investigation into potential negligence.
Russian defence ministry shared a video of what it described as an Iskander-M ballistic missile strike on Saturday on the Novomoskovsk military training ground near the village of Cherkaske in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, where troops from Ukraine’s 157th Mechanized Brigade were stationed.
Heavy Casualties
Russia says the attack inflicted heavy casualties.
Moscow claimed that the strike had killed up to 150 Ukrainian soldiers, including around 30 foreign instructors.
However, it did not provide evidence and Reuters could not independently verify the incident.
The official casualty count remains undisclosed, but Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources, reported “several dozen” soldiers killed and up to a hundred wounded.
Suspilne also noted that a “large number” of wounded troops were hospitalised in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s army chief, said via Telegram that Russia had struck with cluster munitions but did not disclose casualty details.
Investigation Initiated
Ukraine’s law enforcement agency, the State Bureau of Investigations, said it had opened a criminal investigation into possible negligence over the attack, without giving details of what wrongdoing might have taken place.
“We are witnessing untimely decisions and unlearned lessons,” Ukraine’s land forces commander Mykhailo Drapatyi said on Telegram, adding that those responsible would be found. “No one will hide behind explanations or formal reports.”
Syrskyi said a training centre head and a commander of a military unit were suspended from duties, with checks ordered into the implementation of a ban on outside meetings.
During three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Moscow’s forces have inflicted casualties various times in attacks on Ukrainian military educational institutions and various formal outdoor gatherings.
(With inputs from Reuters)
