A Russian ballistic missile slammed into a defense industry gathering in Ukraine’s Kyiv region on Friday, killing 10 people and wounding close to 100 others, according to officials.
Ukraine’s Emergency Services announced that rescue crews had finished operations at the scene, which is located north of the capital. Photos released by the Emergency Services showed workers sorting through large piles of debris near several homes in the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the tragedy in his nightly video message, placing blame squarely on Russia while also criticizing the decision to hold the event in the first place.
“Of course, the cause of this attack is Russian missiles, nothing but Russian terror,” Zelenskiy said. “However, we have said a thousand times that under these wartime conditions, with such an enemy, it is absolutely unacceptable to hold any weapons exhibitions with large crowds of people, especially near residential buildings.”
The gathering was organized by a drone manufacturers’ association and was held at a location a short distance from the edge of the capital.
A military general staff spokesperson noted that the event was held at a site outside the military’s jurisdiction, but emphasized that any such gathering requires “maximum security measures.”
Ruslan Oliynyk, the acting governor of the Kyiv region, announced that Saturday would be observed as a day of mourning throughout the region.
Ukraine’s Council of Defence Industry confirmed that a missile hit a location where defense industry representatives had gathered, while clarifying that it was not involved in organizing the event.
Valerii Borovyk, the founder of Ukrainian drone company First Contact, told Ukrainian media outlets that the missile hit a training ground where a defense industry exhibition was underway.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said a criminal case has been launched to investigate a possible failure to carry out official duties in the planning and execution of the event.
Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, a Russian aerial bomb attack on the city of Sloviansk killed five people and injured nine, according to Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin. He later reported that a second Russian strike on the same city that evening wounded 16 more people and caused damage to residential buildings.
