In an intelligence update, the British Ministry of Defense has agreed that the strike on the Kremenchuk shopping center may have been an accident and that the intended target may have been, as Russia says a nearby infrastructure target.
Russia has claimed that they did not intend to hit the shopping center, and said that the shopping center was empty at the time that it was hit.
The intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense is as follows: "Russian forces continue to make incremental advances in their efforts to encircle the town of Lysychansk. Since 25 June 2022, Russian forces have advanced a further 2km near the Lysychansk oil refinery, south of the town.
There is a realistic possibility the missile strike on the Kremenchuk shopping center on 27 June 2022 was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target.
Russia’s inaccuracy in conducting long-range strikes has previously resulted in mass civilian casualty incidents, including at Kramatorsk railway station on 9 April 2022.
Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target.
It is almost certain that Russia will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian frontline forces. Russia's shortage of more modern precision strike weapons and the professional shortcomings of their targeting planners will highly likely result in further civilian casualties".
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has denied targeting a shopping center in Kremenchuk and said that the shopping center was empty and caught fire after Russia bombed a hanger next door with US and European weapons inside.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that there were over a thousand people inside the shopping center and that the missile attack directly targeted the center, which has so far left at least 18 people dead, and at least 36 people reported missing with the death toll climbing as bodies are found.
Lavrov put out a video statement rejecting claims by the media saying, "Yesterday all the media in the West exploded with videos from Kremenchuk showing footage of a burning shopping mall, accusing the Russian military of bombing civilian infrastructure.
The Russian defense ministry explained very clearly what actually happened. They bombed the hangar where American and European ammunition arrived. As a result of the ammunition detonation, an empty shopping mall nearby caught fire.
I am saying this to show that the more weapons are supplied, which are aimed to prolong the conflict and prolong the suffering of civilians who constantly live under shelling of the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi regime, the more tasks we will perform".
Russia has claimed that they did not intend to hit the shopping center, and said that the shopping center was empty at the time that it was hit.
The intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense is as follows: "Russian forces continue to make incremental advances in their efforts to encircle the town of Lysychansk. Since 25 June 2022, Russian forces have advanced a further 2km near the Lysychansk oil refinery, south of the town.
There is a realistic possibility the missile strike on the Kremenchuk shopping center on 27 June 2022 was intended to hit a nearby infrastructure target.
Russia’s inaccuracy in conducting long-range strikes has previously resulted in mass civilian casualty incidents, including at Kramatorsk railway station on 9 April 2022.
Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target.
It is almost certain that Russia will continue to conduct strikes in an effort to interdict the resupplying of Ukrainian frontline forces. Russia's shortage of more modern precision strike weapons and the professional shortcomings of their targeting planners will highly likely result in further civilian casualties".
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has denied targeting a shopping center in Kremenchuk and said that the shopping center was empty and caught fire after Russia bombed a hanger next door with US and European weapons inside.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that there were over a thousand people inside the shopping center and that the missile attack directly targeted the center, which has so far left at least 18 people dead, and at least 36 people reported missing with the death toll climbing as bodies are found.
Lavrov put out a video statement rejecting claims by the media saying, "Yesterday all the media in the West exploded with videos from Kremenchuk showing footage of a burning shopping mall, accusing the Russian military of bombing civilian infrastructure.
The Russian defense ministry explained very clearly what actually happened. They bombed the hangar where American and European ammunition arrived. As a result of the ammunition detonation, an empty shopping mall nearby caught fire.
I am saying this to show that the more weapons are supplied, which are aimed to prolong the conflict and prolong the suffering of civilians who constantly live under shelling of the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi regime, the more tasks we will perform".