19 128th Brigade soldiers died in Russian missile strike while waiting for tardy Colonel Lysyuk
Many soldiers of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade were killed and wounded by a Russian Iskander-M missile while being made to wait for their tardy commander Dmytro Lysyuk, Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske reported, citing sources in the brigade.
The award ceremony in honor of the Day of Missile Troops and Artillery was originally scheduled for 9:00 a.m. EET but was postponed to 9:30. At that time, the military personnel were already lined up and waiting for the commander. At 10:10, the Russian attack took place. Colonel Lysyuk "arrived literally two minutes after the attack," Hromadske writes.
The Russians used a drone to monitor and guide their attack on the brigade. But they made a mistake and hit a building behind the soldiers, the sources said.
"It turned out that all those who were closer to the road, all [were killed]. And the personnel who were supposed to be awarded (artillery commanders and gunners), they were slightly covered by the wall of the building that the Iskander hit. As a result, there were fewer casualties," the source explained, adding that many soldiers were injured by the debris.
Read also: Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers killed in missile strike on award ceremony
“A missile strike by the treacherous enemy took the lives of 19 soldiers... The best of our soldiers have fallen... We express our sincere condolences to their families and promise to avenge our brothers a hundredfold,” the brigade’s statement of Nov. 6 reads.
Attack on the 128th Brigade’s soldiers on formation: what is known
The Russian Iskander-M missile struck the soldiers of the 128th Brigade as they lined up for an awards ceremony in honor of the Day of Missile Troops and Artillery in a frontline village in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.
Read also: 28 Ukrainian soldiers killed, 53 wounded in devastating Russian missile strike on frontline ceremony
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov ordered an investigation into the tragedy. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that this was "a tragedy that could have been avoided," and an investigation was launched to determine who was responsible for the orders given.
The circumstances that led to the tragic deaths of civilians and the 128th Brigade soldier are being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigations.
The 128th Brigade is part of Operational Command West, headquartered in Mukachevo, and its units are deployed in Zakarpattia Oblast. The brigade has participated in combat operations in eastern Ukraine since 2014. Many of the brigade's soldiers are natives of Zakarpattia Oblast.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
