ARTICLE
Bulk of Russian attack on Chernihiv primarily targeted people nearby rather than city’s theatre
Roman Petrenko
Sunday, 20 August 2023, 14:50
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/20/7416332/
Yurii Bielousov, Chief of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Department for Combating Crimes Committed during Armed Conflicts, has said the investigation revealed that the primary force of the Russian attack on Chernihiv on 19 August primarily targeted people nearby Chernihiv Music and Drama Theatre.
SOURCE: Bielousov during the national joint 24/7 newscast
QUOTE from Bielousov:
“Russia used an Iskander-M missile. And this missile has several configurations. The missile was set up to explode in the air.
This adjustment maximizes the impact on the living targets in the open.
The drama theatre was, of course, affected as well, but there is an assumption that the main force of the explosion was directed at the people nearby,” added the head of the Department.
DETAILS:
Bielousov said the investigation is ongoing following two main lines of enquiry.
The first important step is to identify those who made the decision to launch the attack and those who executed it.
The identification of the Russian Federation Armed Forces commanders who ordered the strike and the specific military unit that fired the missile is underway.
All the circumstances surrounding the organisation of the gathering are also being studied.
The line of enquiry of the attack being adjusted by Russian agents on the territory of Ukraine is also under consideration.
BACKGROUND:
- At about 11:30 on 19 August, the Russians struck the centre of the city of Chernihiv with a ballistic missile
- The Russian attack killed 7 people and injured 148.
- Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Chernihiv Music and Drama Theatre when a gathering of drone manufacturers and aerial reconnaissance training schools was being held there as part of the Liuti Ptashky (Angry Birds) demo day, although only the event’s participants knew the exact location.
- Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti stated that the Russian invaders had targeted a “gathering of Ukraine’s Armed Forces military specialists in combat drones” in Chernihiv.
VIDEOS
1. Russian boat blows up in MASSIVE explosion cause by Ukrainian drone
The Sun
4.29M subscribers
Aug 20, 2023 12:45 p.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsXx_zA4PZM
Russian boat blows up in massive explosion in footage released by Escadrone. Ukrainian FPV drone appears to hit Russian boat near occupied Dnipriany, Kherson Oblast
2. Ukrainian forces destroy 10 boats used by Russian reconnaissance groups
Kanal13
1.59M subscribers
Aug 20, 2023 2:45 p.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F31sDUbNPCM
These and similar moves strike me as a most peculiar pre-negotiation strategy for the inevitable settlement talks. Every attack of this sort will only make things more difficult for the Ukrainians when talks begin, much like each phase of the long-heralded counter-offensive has only worsened Ukraine’s prospects by needlessly sacrificing thousands more recruits and weakening her ability to mount a serious defense against any new offensive by the Russians to push deeper into her territory. It’s almost like some force is directing then towards national suicide.