A Russian ballistic missile hit a site hosting a defence industry event on Friday in the Kyiv region, killing 10 people and injuring close to 100, Ukrainian authorities said.
Emergency Services crews said they had completed rescue operations at the location north of the capital. Photographs released by the Emergency Services showed teams searching through rubble at a site next to several houses.
In his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attributed the attack to Russian missiles and called it "Russian terror." He also criticised the decision to hold a weapons exhibition with a large crowd in wartime conditions and especially near residential buildings, saying such events should not take place under the circumstances.
The gathering had been hosted by an association of drone manufacturers and took place a short drive from Kyiv's outskirts. A spokesperson for the military general staff said the event occurred at a location not under its jurisdiction, and noted that any such event required "maximum security measures."
Acting Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Oliynyk announced that the region would observe a day of mourning on Saturday.
The Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry reported that a missile strike struck a site where representatives of Ukraine's defence industry were present, and said it was not the organiser of the event.
Valerii Borovyk, founder of Ukrainian drone company First Contact, told Ukrainian media that a missile had hit a training ground where a defence industry exhibition was being held.
Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said a criminal case had been opened to investigate a possible failure to perform official duties during the organisation and conduct of the event.
Separately in eastern Ukraine, Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said a Russian aerial bomb attack killed five people and wounded nine in the city of Sloviansk on Friday. He later reported that a subsequent strike on the city in the evening injured 16 people and damaged residential buildings.
The incidents add to the toll of civilian casualties and damage to housing in areas targeted by Russian strikes. Ukrainian authorities continue investigations into both the immediate causes and the circumstances surrounding the organisation of the Kyiv-region event.
Summary
A Russian ballistic missile struck a defence industry event north of Kyiv, killing 10 and injuring nearly 100. Emergency Services completed rescue work at the site adjacent to homes. President Zelenskiy condemned the attack and questioned the appropriateness of hosting weapons exhibitions near residential areas during wartime. Officials opened a criminal investigation into possible failures in organising the event. In Sloviansk, separate Russian aerial attacks killed five and later injured additional civilians and damaged residences.
Key points
- Ten people were killed and close to 100 wounded by a Russian ballistic missile strike at a defence industry event north of Kyiv; rescue operations have concluded.
- Authorities have opened a criminal case examining possible failures in official duties related to the organisation and conduct of the event; a day of mourning was declared in Kyiv region.
- In eastern Ukraine, Russian aerial bombing killed five people in Sloviansk and later injured 16 more while damaging residential buildings, increasing civilian casualty counts and housing damage.
Risks and uncertainties
- Security risk at public defence-industry gatherings during wartime - potential for further casualties and the need for stringent protective measures, affecting event planning and defence-sector activities.
- Legal and administrative risk arising from the criminal investigation into possible failures to perform official duties in organising the Kyiv-region event, which could affect how future industry demonstrations are authorised and managed.
- Continued threat to civilians and residential infrastructure from aerial and missile strikes, as shown by the separate attacks in Sloviansk that caused fatalities, injuries and property damage.