Ukraine opens probe into possible negligence after missile strike on base with reported awards ceremony
Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) opened an investigation into possible negligence after a Nov. 1 Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian military base in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed and wounded troops who had reportedly gathered for an awards ceremony.
An SBI investigative team arrived at the scene of the attack on Nov. 1. to verify whether safety protocols were followed during the air raid alert and whether proper shelters had been arranged, the SBI said in a Nov. 3 post on its website.
Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Sviatnenko said in a Facebook post on Nov. 3 that his brother Volodymyr Sviatnenko, 43, who served in 35th Separate Marine Brigade, was killed in the attack while there was an award ceremony.
"He and his comrades were gathered on the parade ground to be awarded. They gathered the best. The best pilots and infantrymen of the brigade. In order of command. In open terrain. Ballistics flew in. The story of negligence repeated itself," Sviatnenko said.
Kostiantyn Huzenko, Ukrainian photographer and serviceman with the 35th Separate Marine Brigade, was also killed in the attack, Huzenko's friends told the Kyiv Independent.
The SBI aid pretrial investigation was opened under Article 425, Part 4, of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which covers negligent performance of military duty under martial law.
According to a Facebook post from Ukraine's Operational Task Force "East," a military formation responsible for the eastern sector, the strike caused casualties and injuries among Ukrainian military personnel as well as civilians. The post did not specify the number of casualties.
The 30th Marine Corps, which includes the 35th Marine Brigade, confirmed that its service members had been targeted in the Russian attack in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
"At the time of the strike, servicemen from one of the separate marine brigades were in the village. The strike was delivered on the center of the settlement, where there are no military facilities," the Corps said, adding that certain people have been suspended from their posts.
In the same missile strike on Samarivsky District four civilians were killed, including an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, and 6 people were injured, according to Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko.
Similar incidents have previously sparked public criticism. On Nov. 3, 2023, a Russian strike hit an awards event for Ukraine's 128th Mountain Assault Brigade in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, killing at least 19 soldiers and prompting an investigation, suspensions of commanders, and condemnation from President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the tragedy "could have been avoided."
On April 13, Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on the city center of Sumy, killing at least 34 people and injuring at least 117 others. Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of the Sumy Oblast city Konotop, accused regional Governor Volodymyr Artiukh of planning an awards ceremony for the 117th Brigade in Sumy on April 13.
The large gathering of soldiers created a pretense for Russia to attack a "military gathering," Semenikhin said, while needlessly exposing nearby civilians.
Asami Terajima
