Russia’s Ministry of Defense is facing sharp criticism after claiming its April 4 ballistic missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih targeted “Western instructors,” despite confirmed civilian casualties — including six children.
The Russian ministry released a statement Thursday evening describing the attack as a “high-precision” strike on a site where Ukrainian commanders and foreign military advisors were allegedly meeting.
“At 18:49, a high-precision missile strike was carried out with a high-explosive warhead against the site of a meeting of unit commanders and Western instructors in a restaurant in Kryvyi Rih,” the statement read. “As a result of the strike, enemy losses amounted to up to 85 servicemen and foreign officers, as well as up to 20 vehicles.”
No evidence was provided to support those claims.
The statement came just hours after Ukrainian authorities reported that the missile had struck a residential district, killing at least 16 civilians and wounding over 50.
Among the dead were six children, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who described the scene as a civilian neighborhood hit by a ballistic missile.
“Russian missile on an ordinary city. Just a street. A residential area,” Zelensky said. “Preliminary information indicates it was a ballistic strike. Fourteen people are known to have died so far, including six children.”
Photographs from the site show damaged buildings, scorched vehicles, and search teams working with wounded people. At least five multi-story apartment blocks were damaged. Ukrainian officials believe the weapon used was likely a Russian Iskander missile carrying a high-explosive warhead.
The Russian claim that those killed were foreign military personnel has not been corroborated by any independent source. Ukrainian authorities have not reported any military presence at the site and maintain that the victims were all civilians.
The Kremlin’s statement appears to follow a familiar pattern: issuing retroactive justifications for strikes that result in mass civilian casualties, often accompanied by unverifiable claims of military targets.
Ukrainian officials and international observers have previously documented similar disinformation efforts following deadly attacks on residential areas in Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa.
The number of casualties could rise as rescue efforts progress.