Ukraine says it destroyed Russian S-400 missile system used in deadly strike on Kramatorsk

Ukraine's military said on July 15 that it destroyed a Russian S-400 missile system that was used to launch a June strike on Kramatorsk, which killed 13 people, including three children.

According to the Operational North Command, an American-provided HIMARS, short for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, was used to strike the Russian target.

"The defense forces took revenge on the occupiers for the bombing of Kramatorsk," the Operational North Command said in its Telegram post.

On June 27, Russian forces launched a missile strike on central Kramatorsk, hitting a restaurant full of Ukrainian soldiers on their days off, journalists, and volunteers at its peak hour.

Two 14-year-old twin sisters and a 17-year-old girl were the teenagers killed, and some 60 people were wounded.

Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher Victoria Amelina was the last fallen victim of the Kramatorsk strike. She died in the hospital on July 1 after being critically injured in the attack.

Kramatorsk lies some 55 kilometers from the front lines and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. It has been a way station for Ukrainian troops, making it a frequent target of Russian missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's missile strike on Kramatorsk "a manifestation of terror."