A Russian ballistic missile struck a defense industry event in Ukraine’s Kiev region on Friday, killing at least 10 people and injuring nearly 100 others, prompting President Zelensky to criticize the decision to hold such a rally in wartime.Ukraine’s emergency services said on-site rescue operations in the north of the capital had been completed. Images released by the agency showed emergency workers sifting through piles of rubble near several homes.Zelensky addressed the nation, blaming Russia for the attack but also questioning the decision to organize a defense-related exhibition while the war was still going on.“Of course, the cause of this attack was Russian missiles, it was nothing more than an act of Russian terror,” he said, according to Reuters.“However, we have said a thousand times that under such wartime conditions and facing such an enemy, it is absolutely unacceptable to hold any large-scale weapons exhibition, especially near residential buildings.”The event was organized by the Drone Manufacturers Association and took place not far from the outskirts of Kiev. A spokesman for Ukraine’s General Staff said the site did not fall under military jurisdiction, but stressed that any such activities should be conducted under “maximum security measures.”The acting governor of the Kyiv region, Ruslan Olynyk, announced that Saturday would be designated as a day of mourning following the strike.Ukraine’s Defense Industry Council confirmed that representatives of the country’s defense sector were present when the missile struck, but said it did not organize the event.Valerii Borovyk, founder of Ukrainian drone company First Contact, told local media that the missile hit a training ground where an exhibition was being held.Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said a criminal investigation has been launched to investigate whether officials failed in their duties when organizing and hosting the event.Russia also launched attacks in several other parts of Ukraine on Friday. In the eastern city of Sloviansk, a Russian air-dropped bomb killed five people and wounded nine others, according to regional governor Vadym Filashkin. He later said another strike in the city overnight injured 16 more people and damaged residential buildings.Oleh Hryhorov, governor of the northern region of Sumy, said a Russian drone strike killed two people.Meanwhile, in the southeastern city of Zaporozhye, a strike in Russia caused a fire in a shopping mall, injuring several people.Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of targeting civilians, but both sides have denied deliberately attacking civilians.
