Russian missile hits Ukrainian military award ceremony in Zaporizhzhia region, preliminary reports say at least 20 soldiers killed

On November 3, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian military personnel from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade in the Zaporizhzhia region using Iskander-M missiles, reports the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ press service. The department didn’t provide details about the incident, noting only that there were injuries and fatalities as a result of the strike.

Ukrainian media had previously reported that a Russian missile hit Ukrainian servicemen during an award ceremony as part of Artillery Day in one of the frontline villages in the Zaporizhzhia region. A source from the Internal Affairs Ministry confirmed this information to the outlet Ukrainska Pravda. According to the source, more than 20 people may have died in the attack.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

The 128th Mountain Assault Brigade is from the Zakarpattia region. On November 5, the head of the Zakarpattia region, Viktor Mykyta, declared three days of mourning for the victims.

Oleksiy Kucherenko, a deputy in Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, reported that 28 people were killed and 53 injured as a result of the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a criminal investigation has been opened into the death of the soldiers. “This is a tragedy that could have been avoided. What’s most important is to establish the full truth about what happened and prevent such incidents in the future,” Zelensky added.