A Russian strike tore into an arms exhibition near Kyiv today, killing at least 10 people and injuring 100 more, Ukrainian officials said, turning a weapons showcase into a scene of devastation and prompting urgent scrutiny over why such a gathering was allowed to go ahead.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko said a criminal investigation had been opened to determine “who made the decision to hold the event … and whether the risks were properly assessed under martial law”.
An AFP journalist at the site saw at least five bodies covered with black sheets near the shooting range where the event had taken place.
Inside the range’s courtyard, promotional tents remained standing, drones still arranged beneath them, while a screen continued to run a weapons company’s promotional video.
Russia, which has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian training sites and military gatherings during the war, said it had hit an arms exhibition displaying “Ukrainian and foreign-made unmanned aerial vehicles”.
Some of the drones presented at the event were models “used to strike civilian targets within Russian territory”, Moscow said.
The attack provoked anger among figures in Ukraine’s defence sector and government circles, with several suggesting the event had been organised recklessly and calling for those responsible to answer questions.
Presidential advisor Sergiy Beskrestnov criticised organisers who stage events without shelters while promoting them on social media.
Andriy Grytseniuk, head of Ukraine’s state-backed defence group Brave1, called on “everyone involved in the defence industry to urgently review and reinforce their safety protocols”.
At the scene, local official Alla Lakhmaniuk voiced frustration, telling AFP the municipality had not authorised the event.
“Everyone is very upset that such an event was held right next to residential housing… If you are going to hold such events, they must be in a safe place,” she said.
Homes beside the shooting range were reduced to wreckage. Across the ground lay debris and burned apples from a destroyed tree.
Elsewhere, a Russian aerial bomb attack killed five people and wounded nine in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, the regional governor said.
Governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app that aerial bombs damaged 10 private homes, a business and the premises of the Latvian consulate.
A Ukrainian strike killed six people and injured 26 in Kirov in Russia, more than 1,000km from the front line, according to its governor, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces had hit a military facility in the city.
“As a result of an attack by Kyiv … unfortunately, 32 people were affected. Of these, six people died at the scene,” Kirov regional governor Alexander Sokolov said on social media.
Wildberries warehouses targeted again
Smoke rises from a Wildberries warehouse near Saint Petersburg after a Ukrainian drone strike
Ukraine again struck warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries – often described as Moscow’s answer to Amazon – today, marking the third such attack this week.
Kyiv says the e-commerce company, which employs thousands and has become deeply woven into Russia’s economy, stores drone components and supports the Russian military.
Today’s strikes hit Wildberries warehouses outside Saint Petersburg and in Moscow-annexed Crimea.
After the attacks, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had targeted “logistics hubs involved in supplying the Russian army with drone components, navigation equipment and other gear.”
Wildberries employs tens of thousands of people across Russia, operating warehouses and pickup points throughout the vast country, including in remote regions.
The company occupies a significant place in the Russian economy, with small and medium-sized businesses depending on its courier network.
The strikes come as Russian businesses face growing pressure from restricted internet access, higher taxes and fuel shortages linked to Ukrainian attacks
Romania shoots down drone breaching its airspace
The drone was shot down by a Romanian Air Force F-16 jet (file pic)
Romania shot down a drone in its airspace today, its president said – the first such incident since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The drone was brought down around 114km from Bucharest, according to the defence ministry of the NATO member state, which borders Ukraine.
“We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down a few minutes ago, around 11am (9am Irish time) by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16,” President Nicusor Dan told a press conference.
“It’s important to note that the area was uninhabited, which is why the pilot was able to fire from above, and now teams from various institutions are investigating to provide all the details about the incident,” he added.
The defence ministry said the drone was shot down over the village of Padina.
Surveillance systems first picked up an aerial target at 9:39am local time, after which two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets and two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters were dispatched to monitor the situation.
“At 11:02, a Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft engaged the target and shot it down,” the defence ministry said.
Romania has not yet established the drone’s origin or purpose, but the country’s army chief of staff said it appeared to be a Shahed.
“Visually, the pilots reported the drone looked to be a Shahed type,” the Army’s Chief of Staff Gheorghita Vlad told reporters, while cautioning that it was too early to reach firm conclusions.
Romania, which has a 650km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine, has recorded multiple incursions into its airspace by Russian drones since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube River after its full-scale invasion in 2022.
In late May, a drone hit an apartment building in the town of Galati near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people, the first time during the Ukraine war that a strike had landed in a densely populated area of a NATO country and caused injuries.
