Strike on Ukrainian town leaves 16 dead due to “errant kyiv missile” | World | News

A missile attack in eastern Ukraine that killed at least 16 people, including an 18-year-old boy, may have been caused by an “errant Ukrainian” rocket, the New York Times reported.

The September 6 attack was one of the deadliest in months on a civilian area in Ukraine and kyiv quickly blamed Russian forces for the strike.

But the New York Times investigation, which analyzed video of the moment the missile struck, as well as extensive on-the-ground research, concluded that the Ukrainian claims may be false.

Russian state media, as well as Kremlin officials, used the story as evidence of Ukrainian war crimes. Opposition Russians then accused their counterparts of Orwellian “doublethink,” pointing out that they had for years dismissed much of the New York Times’ reporting as “fake news.”

Throughout the war, Russian officials have repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that strikes on apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine were the work of Ukrainian forces.

The New York Times investigation cited evidence – including missile fragments, satellite images and witnesses – to suggest that the missile that caused the explosion was a Ukrainian air defense missile fired by a Buk launch system, as opposed to an S rocket -300, as Kiev initially claimed.

The American publication claims that the missile was fired from Druzhkivka, 16 kilometers northwest of Kostiantynivka, in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Their claims were supported by eyewitness accounts, analysis of the direction of the missile that hit Kostiantynivka, as well as photos of what appears to be the launch site.

Ukraine’s state security service, the SBU, rejected the findings, saying an ongoing investigation so far showed the attack was carried out by Russia.

Missile fragments found at the scene were identified as an S-300 surface-to-air missile, he said, contrary to New York Times claims that the fragments were indicative of a missile from a Buk system.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova addressed the New York Times investigation, saying Ukraine should be “demilitarized.”

“Even if this action was not premeditated, it is obvious to everyone that a complete demilitarization of the Kiev regime is not just a demand but an absolute necessity,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

Speaking at the United Nations after the attack, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia accused the West of covering up what he described as a “horrible crime and a terrible provocation by of Ukraine”.

On the day of the incident, President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “deliberate” Russian strike against a civilian area.

The White House also blamed Russia for the attack, one of the deadliest bombings of civilians in the 18-month-old war.

Western media were quick to follow suit, including this publication which wrote at the time that a “Russian shell” was responsible for these deaths.

Ukrainian authorities initially blocked New York Times journalists from visiting the scene during their investigation, but later relented. They probably knew what the reports were going to find.