A Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military shooting range killed six servicemen and wounded at least 10 more during training on Tuesday, Ukraine’s national guard said on Wednesday, adding that the commander of the unit had been suspended.
Russia’s defence ministry had said on Tuesday that the missile attack on the training camp in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border killed up to 70 Ukrainian service members, including 20 instructors.
The Ukrainian national guard statement said an internal investigation was under way and the necessary information was shared with law enforcement agencies.
“The investigation will provide a legal assessment of the actions of all persons who made the relevant decisions,” it said about the attack on the military unit’s shooting range.
After previous deadly strikes on military training camps, Ukraine launched investigations into possible negligence.
During more than three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Moscow’s forces have inflicted casualties in attacks on Ukrainian military educational institutions and various formal outdoor gatherings.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that air defences shot down 159 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions.
The majority were over Russia’s western regions but at least six were shot down over the Moscow region, which has a population of over 20 million, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin has visited the Kursk region for the first time since Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area, the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Mr Putin met volunteer organisations in the region and visited the Kursk-II nuclear power plant.
State television showed Mr Putin meeting volunteers and local officials in the region including acting governor Alexander Khinshtein. Mr Putin was accompanied by Sergei Kiriyenko, Kremlin first deputy chief of staff.
Russia said in late April that it had ejected Ukrainian troops from Kursk region, ending the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War Two.
Just over two years after Russia’s 2022 invasion, Ukraine on August 6th launched its boldest attack, smashing through the Russian border into the Kursk region, supported by swarms of drones and heavy Western weaponry.
At its height, Ukrainian forces claimed nearly 1,400sq km of Kursk. - Reuters
