September 2023 Kostiantynivka missile strike

Last updated

Kostiantynivka missile strike
Part of attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kostiantynivka after missile strike, 2023-09-06 (61).jpg
Aftermath of the missile strike
Location Kostiantynivka, Ukraine
Date6 September 2023
about 14:00 (EEST)
Attack type
Missile strike
Deaths15+
Injured32+

In the morning of 6 September 2023, a missile struck an open market in downtown Kostiantynivka, Ukraine. [1] The strike left at least 15 people dead, including a child and a couple in their 50s who were selling flowers at the market, and at least 32 wounded. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] An investigation by The New York Times suggested that the missile was fired from Ukrainian positions west of Kostiantynivka from a Buk system, based on video and audio footage from near the launch site and from the town, and analyses of the explosion and its aftermath. [1] Security Service of Ukraine spokesman said that they continue an official investigation of the attack, but currently believe it was a S-300 missile launched by Russian forces.

Contents

Initial response

(Ukrainian) Video address from the National Police of Ukraine, with security footage of the impact and firefighting efforts shown. [8]

The strike took place just hours after United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials. [9] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, describing it as "utter inhumanity" saying "Russian terrorists have attacked a regular market, shops, and a pharmacy, killing innocent people." [10] [11] Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote that "There will be a just retribution for everything." [9]

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, stated Russia was responsible and condemned it for attacking civilians: "It is an unfortunate day for Ukraine. This deeply tragic and unacceptable event is just another example of the suffering that Russia's invasion inflicts on civilians across the country... Intentionally directing an attack against civilians or civilian objects or intentionally launching an attack knowing it will cause disproportionate civilian harm is a war crime." [12]

France declared the strike a Russian war crime. Its foreign ministry said: "By deliberately targeting a market and people who were going about their most basic daily activities, Russia is, once again, guilty of committing war crimes with its strategy of terror and must be held responsible for them." [13]

The New York Times report

The Ukrainian authorities initially prevented The Times journalists from accessing the scene of impact. Subsequently, reporters were able to inspect the site of the explosion, where they collected fragments of the missile and interviewed witnesses. [1] On 18 September 2023, The New York Times reported that the explosion was probably caused by an errant Ukrainian missile, stating that "missile fragments, satellite imagery, witness accounts, and social media posts, strongly suggests the catastrophic strike was the result of an errant Ukrainian air defense missile fired by a Buk launch system". They concluded from reviewing security camera footage that the missile flew from the direction of Ukrainian-held territory, indicated by a reflection of the missile on the roofs of cars, and that just before the strike pedestrians turned to look toward the north-west. Two anonymous bomb-disposal experts concluded that fragments and damage were most consistent with a missile fired by a mobile Buk anti-aircraft system. Evidence was also found from witnesses and social media that the Ukrainian military had launched two surface-to-air missiles from the town of Druzhkivka, 10 miles (16 km) north-west, a minute or two before the incident. [1] [14]

Responding to The New York Times report, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) spokesman reiterated that the evidence they have pointed to a Russian war crime, saying "The enemy hit this civilian object from the S-300 complex". The SBU claimed to have found S-300 missile fragments on the scene of the tragedy. Ukrainian authorities are conducting an official investigation of the incident. [1] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kostiantynivka</span> City in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine

Kostiantynivka is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Kryvyi Torets river. During the Soviet era, the city developed into a major centre for the production of iron, zinc, steel, and glass. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It was the administrative center of the Kostiantynivka Raion until 2020, although it did not belong to it. After the raion was abolished, Kostiantynivka was incorporated into the Kramatorsk Raion. Its population is approximately 67,350.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia Airlines Flight 17</span> Aircraft shot down by Russian-controlled forces in 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk 9M38 surface-to-air missile on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 kilometres from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft landed near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhytomyr attacks (2022–present)</span> Missile strikes in Ukraine

Missile attacks on Zhytomyr began on 24 February 2022 as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinnytsia strikes (2022–present)</span> 2022 missile attacks on Vinnytsia, Ukraine

The Russian Navy have launched several rocket attacks on Vinnytsia, Ukraine, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian attack in July 2022 which killed 28 people including 3 children, received widespread condemnation and has been labeled as a war crime by EU officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odesa strikes (2022–present)</span> Battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the southern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Odesa and the surrounding region have been the target of shelling and air strikes by Russian forces on multiple occasions since the conflict began, fired in part by Russian warships situated offshore in the Black Sea. The city has also been targeted by Russian cruise missiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kramatorsk railway station attack</span> 2022 Russian missile attack in Ukraine

On 8 April 2022, a Russian missile strike hit the railway station of the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The strike killed 63 civilians and wounded 150.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span> Reported cross-border incidents in Western Russia

There have been attacks in mainland Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The main targets have been the military, the arms industry and the oil industry. Many of the attacks have been drone strikes, firebombing, and rail sabotage. The Ukrainian intelligence services have acknowledged carrying out some of these attacks. Others have been carried out by anti-war activists in Russia. There have also been cross-border shelling, missile strikes, and covert raids from Ukraine, mainly in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. Several times, Ukrainian-based paramilitaries launched incursions into Russia, captured border villages and battled the Russian military. These were carried out by units made up mainly of Russian emigrants. While Ukraine supported these ground incursions, it denied direct involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kremenchuk shopping mall attack</span> June 2022 missile attack in Ukraine

On 27 June 2022, the Russian Armed Forces fired two Kh-22 cruise missiles into central Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, hitting the Kredmash road machinery plant and the immediately adjacent Amstor shopping mall. A fire broke out and the attack killed at least 20 people and injured at least 59. Russian media and officials carried conflicting stories about the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dnipro strikes (2022–present)</span> Russian missile attacks on Dnipro, Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces have launched several missile attacks over the city of Dnipro in Ukraine. These have led to dozens of fatalities and over a hundred injuries among the civilian population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine</span>

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military have carried out deliberate attacks against civilian targets and indiscriminate attacks in densely-populated areas. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says the Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster bombs and by firing other weapons with wide-area effects into civilian areas, such as missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of 2024, the attacks had resulted in the UN-documented deaths of between 11,000 and estimated 40,000 dead civilians. On 22 April 2022, the UN reported that of the 2,343 civilian casualties it had been able to document, it could confirm 92.3% of these deaths were as a result of the actions of the Russian armed forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia civilian convoy attack</span> Airstrike during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 30 September 2022, the Russian Armed Forces reportedly launched sixteen S-300 missiles at a civilian convoy in the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 32 people were killed and 86 more were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crimea attacks (2022–present)</span> Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Beginning in July 2022, a series of explosions and fires occurred on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, from where the Russian Army had launched its offensive on Southern Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Occupied since 2014, Crimea was a base for the subsequent Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast and Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Zaporizhzhia residential building airstrike</span> Airstrike during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Zaporizhzhia residential building airstrike occurred in the early morning of 9 October 2022. The missile attack by the Russian Armed Forces, killed at least 13 people and injured more than 89 others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure (2022–present)</span> Wave of Russian attacks during its invasion of Ukraine

Russia launched waves of missile and drone strikes against energy in Ukraine as part of its invasion. From 2022 the strikes targeted civilian areas beyond the battlefield, particularly critical power infrastructure, which is considered a war crime. By mid-2024 the country only had a third of pre-war electricity generating capacity, and some gas distribution and district heating had been hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kryvyi Rih strikes (2022–present)</span> Series of attacks in Kryvyi Rih in 2022 and 2023

Russian occupiers carried out a series of artillery fire and air raids in the city of Kryvyi Rih during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region became the target of repeated Russian shelling and bombing as part of the southern Ukraine offensive from 27 February 2022 onwards. Thirty to forty percent of the infrastructure in the city has been destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April 2023 Sloviansk airstrike</span> 14 April 2023 missile strike during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 14 April 2023, on Eastern Orthodox Christian Good Friday, a Russian missile strike struck residential buildings in Sloviansk, Ukraine, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 15 civilians were killed and 24 were injured. 34 apartment buildings, administrative buildings, and shops were damaged in the blasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2023 Chernihiv missile strike</span> Incident during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 19 August 2023, Russian military forces launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile at the Taras Shevchenko Theater in downtown Chernihiv, Ukraine.

On 30 December 2023, during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, explosions occurred in the city of Belgorod, Russia, killing at least 25 people and wounding over 100. Russian sources alleged the explosions were shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukraine attributed the explosions to the work of Russian air defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Kostiantynivka supermarket strike</span> Incident during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 9 August 2024, the Russian Armed Forces conducted a missile attack on the EKO-market supermarket in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, killing 14 people and injuring 44 others. Damaged were 10 private houses, 9 stores, a supermarket, a post office, retail pavilions, a gas pipeline, a car wash, and 12 vehicles. At the impact site, rescuers dismantled 76 tons of building debris.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ismay, John; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Willis, Haley; Browne, Malachy; Koettl, Christoph; Cardia, Alexander (18 September 2023). "Evidence Suggests Ukrainian Missile Caused Market Tragedy". The New York Times. New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023. Ukrainian authorities initially tried to prevent journalists with The Times from accessing the missile debris and impact area in the strike's immediate aftermath. But the reporters eventually got to the scene, interviewed witnesses, and collected remnants of the weapon used.
  2. Ракетний удар рф по Костянтинівці: кількість загиблих зменшилась до 15 // Катерина Лівенець, UNN  [ uk ], 8 вересня 2023, 17:50
  3. "Deadly market attack in Ukraine overshadows visit by Blinken". reuters.com. Reuters. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. Harmash, Olena; Polityuk, Pavel. "Russian attack kills 17 in east Ukraine as Blinken visits Kyiv, officials say". Reuters . Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. Austin, Henry (6 September 2023). "Russian missile kills 16 at Ukrainian market, the deadliest attack in months". NBC . Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. "Over 30 people hospitalised after deadly attack on marketplace in Kostiantynivka". Reliefweb. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  7. "Funeral held for people killed in Russian market attack, missile strikes continue as Blinken visits Ukraine". PBS. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  8. National Police of Ukraine (6 September 2023). "Удар по ринку в Костянтинівці. Поліція рятує поранених (інформація оновлюється)" [An attack on the market in Kostyantynivka. The police rescue the injured (information is being updated)]. dn.npu.gov.ua. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  9. 1 2 Lister, Tim; Kesaieva, Julia (6 September 2023). "Russian missile strikes eastern Ukraine market, killing 16, in one of the worst attacks in months". CNN . Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  10. "Ukraine war: 17 killed during attack on market in 'peaceful city'". BBC. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  11. Miller, Christopher; Rathbone, John (6 September 2023). "At least 16 die in Russian rocket attack on market in eastern Ukraine". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023.
  12. "Ukraine: Latest Russian attack 'another example' of civilian suffering". UN News. 6 September 2023.
  13. "Ukraine - France condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable attack on the Kostiantynivka market and the latest strikes on the Izmail district (September 7, 2023)". France Diplomacy. 7 September 2023.
  14. Tondo, orenzo (19 September 2023). "Ukrainian market tragedy may have been caused by errant missile fired by Ukraine". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  15. Melkozerova, Veronika (20 September 2023). "Ukraine hits back at NYT report it accidentally bombed its own market". POLITICO. Retrieved 21 September 2023.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Attack on Kostiantynivka, 6 September 2023 at Wikimedia Commons