Six National Guard soldiers were killed and more than ten wounded when a Russian missile hit a shooting range in Sumy Oblast on May 20, Ukraine’s National Guard said. Servicemen were in the middle of classes at a unit’s firing range when it struck.
“An official investigation into the tragedy is underway,” the Guard said in a statement. The commander of the unit has been suspended, and the necessary information has gone to law enforcement agencies.
The question now is whether anyone ignored orders. According to the Guard, its command had already issued protocols and directives on responding to air strike threats and avoiding unnecessary crowding of personnel. Investigators are assessing whether those rules were enforced on the day. “The Command of the National Guard of Ukraine and law enforcement agencies will give a strict legal assessment of the actions of all officials based on the results of the inspection and investigation,” the statement said. The Guard added that it is cooperating fully and extended condolences to the families of the dead.
Where it happened, and what Moscow says
The National Guard’s announcement did not name the location. Russia’s Defence Ministry did. In a Telegram post, it said Iskander missiles had hit a training camp of Ukraine’s 1st Special Forces Brigade in the city of Shostka. Another account, relayed by Dagens.com, had the ministry describing the target as a camp of the Territorial Defense Forces. Russian state news agency TASS also claimed a Ukrainian training ground had been struck by an Iskander.
The ministry put the toll at “up to 70 servicemen, including up to 20 instructors,” and said an ammunition depot and 10 pieces of equipment were destroyed. It posted unverified aerial video of dozens of soldiers walking through a wooded area moments before an explosion and a large plume of smoke. Those figures have not been independently verified and are far above Ukraine’s official count.
Earlier that afternoon, a Russian missile attack hit an enterprise in the Shostka community, the regional military administration reported at the time. The Air Force had also warned of Russian aerial attacks across Ukraine’s northeastern regions. Both Ukraine and Russia rarely acknowledge successful strikes on their own military facilities and camps.
A region under frequent fire
Sumy has been bombarded often since the full-scale invasion began. It also served as the launch point for Ukraine’s prolonged incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, which Russia is said to have fully retaken at the end of April.
That same month, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Volodymyr Artyukh, head of the region’s military administration, after a Russian missile strike on the regional capital, Sumy, killed at least 35 people and injured 129. Hours after the attack, Konotop mayor Artem Semenikhin accused Artyukh of holding a military award ceremony and gathering servicemen from the 117th Brigade in Sumy on the day of the strike.
Sources
- 6 soldiers killed, over 10 injured in Russian missile strike in Sumy Oblast, National Guard says
- Kyiv launches investigation as Russian strike on military training ground in Sumy kills 6
- Russian Missile Strike Kills Six Ukrainian Soldiers at Sumy Firing Range | Dagens.com
Sources
- 6 soldiers killed, over 10 injured in Russian missile strike in Sumy…
- Kyiv launches investigation as Russian… — Novaya Gazeta Europe
