Zarichne barracks airstrike
| Zarichne barracks airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
| Type | Airstrike |
| Location | |
| Target | 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces |
| Date | November 3, 2023 |
| Executed by |  Russian Air Force |
| Casualties | 28 killed Unknown injured |
On November 3, 2023, Russian forces launched an airstrike on Ukrainian troops of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade in the village of Zarichne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine during a military celebration. Twenty eight Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the strike, including nineteen from the 128th Separate Mountain Brigade.[1]
Strike
[edit]On November 3, 2023, the command of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade gathered a certain number of servicemen for awarding on the occasion of the Day of Missile Forces and Artillery. During the formation, at about 10-11 o'clock in the morning, an Iskander-M missile fired by the Russian Armed Forces flew into the award site.[2]
According to Hromadske, the strike occurred when the servicemen were waiting for the arrival of the brigade commander Dmytro Lysiuk, who was late for the ceremony. The Russians followed the fighters with a drone before launching the strike.[3] Later, Russian Telegram channels spread a video allegedly from the site of the attack online, showing Ukrainian soldiers being followed by a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle.[4]
Casualties
[edit]On 5 November Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Kucherenko reported that 28 soldiers were killed in the strike and 53 others were wounded.[1]
On November 6, the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade confirmed the strike and stated that 19 servicemen were killed in the strike.[5] After the attack, 21 corpses were counted by soldiers of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade.[6]
Among those killed as a result of the strike were an employee of the Ministry for Veterans Affairs Serhiy Kuznev, artillery platoon commander Dmytro Miliutin, deputy commander of the 128th brigade Lieutenant Colonel Andriy Tarasenko and ex-head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support Volodymyr Voznyi.[7]
The head of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration where the 128th brigade is based, Viktor Mykyta, said that since November 6, a three-day mourning period has been declared in the Zakarpattia region for those killed as a result of the attack.[8]
Reactions
[edit]On November 4, the strike on the 128th Brigade was confirmed by the Center for Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov ordered to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the frontline zone.[9]
In a video message on the evening of November 5, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that criminal proceedings had been opened on the fact of the strike.[10]
On the evening of November 6, President Zelensky and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that the commander of the 128th Brigade, Dmytro Lysiuk, who led the fighters to line up, had been suspended from his duties.[11][12]
On November 14, the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported to Minister Umerov on the results of the verification of the circumstances of the missile strike: according to the minister, "now we know minute by minute what happened and how. We figured out what led to the tragedy and how it could have been avoided." It is noted that the rules of camouflage and other security measures were ignored. The Minister of Defense said that the investigation, in particular, is being conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation, and instructed the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to "check the implementation of security protocols in the units".[13] In a comment in his post, the minister also noted that the order includes "regulation of the procedure for announcing incentives and presenting awards".[14]
Retaliation by Ukrainian Forces
[edit]Ukrainian officials said they retaliated for the attack by striking Russian troops of the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade based in Russian-occupied Kherson oblast on November 21.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Russian missile strikes brigade in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine says". The Washington Post. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
"The losses of the 128th brigade in the Zaporizhzhya region became known" [Стали известны потери 128-й бригады в Запорожской области] (in Russian). Inform.zp.ua. 5 November 2023. - ^ "Росія вдарила по військових ЗСУ, яких зібрали на нагородження: загинули понад 20 бійців". Pravda (in Ukrainian). 2023-11-04. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Klymkovetskyi, Markiyan (2023-11-06). "Комбриг 128 бригади запізнився на нагородження. Поки його чекали, стався приліт". Hromadske. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ "Удар по 128-й бригаді. Що відомо про трагедію з військовими у Запорізькій області". РБК-Україна (in Ukrainian). 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Popp, Anna; Kurta, Aleksandr (2023-11-06). "Закарпатська 128 бригада підтвердила загибель 19 військових через ракетний удар РФ". Suspilne.media. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ "«Все злятся на командование. Это глупость военного руководства»". Mediazona. 9 November 2023.
- ^ Kuznetsova, Katerina (2023-11-06). "Удар по 128-й бригаді на Запоріжжі: імена загиблих та шокувальні дані про командира (фото)". TSN.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ "На Закарпатті оголосили триденну жалобу за загиблими воїнами 128-ї бригади". Ukrinform (in Ukrainian). 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
- ^ Zhelezniak, Anna; Kurta, Oleksandr (2023-11-04). "Росія вдарила по скупченню військових 128 бригади, яких зібрали для урочистостей. Умєров доручив провести перевірку". Suspilne.media. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Зеленський відреагував на загибель воїнів 128-ої окремої гірсько-штурмової Закарпатської бригади". Radio Free Europe (in Ukrainian). 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Командира 128-ї бригади відсторонили на час слідства - Президент". Ukrinform. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Загибель бійців 128 ОГШБ: командира відсторонили на час розслідування – Генштаб ЗСУ". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Рустем Умєров повідомив про результати перевірки обставин ракетного удару по 128-й бригаді". armyinform.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Умєров: Винні в загибелі військових 128 ОГШБр будуть покарані, доручаю Генштабу перевірити виконання протоколів безпеки в підрозділах". Інтерфакс-Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "Помста за 128 бригаду: ЗСУ показали момент удару по скупченню морпіхів ворога". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
