Ukraine’s defence minister has initiated an inquiry into an alleged Russian ballistic missile attack on a Ukrainian assault brigade, following reports of more than 20 soldiers being killed during an awards ceremony. Rustem Umerov, the Ukrainian Defence Minister, expressed his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers from the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Transcarpathian Brigade and announced a comprehensive investigation. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, through a statement on the Telegram messaging app, confirmed that Russia had targeted the Zaporizhzhia region with an Iskander ballistic missile, resulting in casualties among both servicemen and local residents. The exact number of soldiers who lost their lives remains unknown.
These statements followed a series of earlier reports on Ukrainian social media and from military bloggers, which alleged that more than 20 soldiers were killed in a village near the front lines in Zaporizhzhia during an award ceremony commemorating Artillery Day on Friday. In contrast, the Russian Defence Ministry, in its daily reports on battlefield activities, acknowledged that Russian forces had engaged a unit of Ukraine’s assault brigade in the region, causing the death of up to 30 military personnel. However, Reuters was unable to independently verify these reports.
Throughout the 20-month-long war, both Russia and Ukraine have frequently downplayed their military casualties while exaggerating the losses they claim to have inflicted upon each other. Additional reporting by Elaine Monaghan in Washington; writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Michael Perry.
