(BBC News) Ukraine’s military chiefs are facing growing criticism over a recent Russian missile strike that is believed to have caused heavy Ukrainian casualties.
Ukrainian media and Russian military bloggers say more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers were killed at Friday’s award ceremony near the southern frontlines.
Ukraine’s military has not yet given casualty figures of what it says was a “tragedy” in the Zaporizhzhia region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the incident “could have been avoided.”
“Criminal proceedings have been initiated,” the Ukrainian leader added in a post on social media on Sunday.
“Every soldier in the combat zone – in the enemy’s line of fire and aerial reconnaissance – knows how to behave in the open, how to ensure safety.”
A number of Ukrainian soldiers and military experts say the ceremony should not have taken place in a strike-risk area.
They say Ukrainian officers should have been aware that Russian drones are constantly monitoring Ukrainian troops’ activities near the frontlines to guide air and artillery strikes.
Drone footage has now emerged on a Russian Telegram channel purportedly showing the moment of the deadly strike on what looked like an open-air ceremony.
A number of bodies believed to be those of Ukrainian soldiers are seen lying on the ground.
Russia’s military has not officially commented on the attack.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov on Saturday confirmed earlier media reports that Ukrainian soldiers from 128th Mountain Assault Brigade “Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia)” were killed on Friday.
In a statement, he also ordered a “full investigation” in what he described as a “tragedy”.
Ukraine’s Strategic Command (StratCom) said an Iskander-M – Russia’s short-range ballistic missile – was used in the attack. A number of civilians were injured.
On Sunday, Ukrainian lawmaker Mykhailo Volynets said 28 people were killed and 53 injured in the attack.
The attack is believed to have happened as Ukrainian troops were marking Artillery Day, celebrating military personnel working in artillery and missile units.
