In his address to the nation, Zelensky blamed Russia for the attack.
At least 10 people were killed and nearly 100 injured after a Russian ballistic missile struck a defense industry event in Ukraine’s Kiev region on Friday, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to criticize the decision to hold such a wartime gathering.Ukrainian emergency services said that rescue operations at the site north of the capital had been completed. Pictures published by the agency showed emergency workers searching through piles of rubble near several residential homes.In his address to the nation, Zelensky blamed Russia for the attack but also questioned the decision to organize a defense-related exhibition while the war was ongoing.He added, according to what was reported by Reuters news agency: “Of course, the reason for this attack was Russian missiles, nothing but Russian terrorism.”“However, we have said a thousand times that under such conditions of war, with such an enemy, it is absolutely unacceptable to hold any arms exhibitions with large crowds of people, especially near residential buildings.”The event, organized by the Drone Manufacturers Association, was held a short distance from the outskirts of Kiev. A spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff said the place did not fall under the military’s jurisdiction, but stressed that any such event should have been conducted with “maximum security measures.”
The acting governor of the Kiev region, Ruslan Oleinik, announced that Saturday would be a day of mourning after the strike.The Ukrainian Defense Industry Council confirmed that representatives of the country’s defense sector were present when the missile fell, but said it did not organize the event.Valery Borovik, founder of the Ukrainian drone company First Contact, told local media that the missile hit a training ground where the exhibition was being held.Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said that a criminal investigation had been opened to find out whether officials failed to perform their duties while organizing and managing the event.Russia also carried out attacks in several other parts of Ukraine on Friday. In the eastern city of Slovyansk, a Russian air bomb killed five people and wounded nine, according to the region’s governor, Vadim Velashkin. He later said that another raid in the evening on the city wounded 16 more people and damaged residential buildings.In the northern Sumy region, a Russian drone attack killed two people, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said.Meanwhile, in the southeastern city of Zaporizhia, a Russian raid set fire to a shopping center and injured several people.Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of targeting civilians since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although both sides deny deliberately attacking civilian populations.
