Chinanews.com, January 17th reported that a residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, was suddenly attacked by missiles, causing a large number of civilian casualties. Russia and Ukraine disagreed on who did it.
The Russian side suggested that the Ukrainian air defense missile hit the residential building while intercepting the target, while the Ukrainian side suggested that the cruise missile launched by the Russian side hit the apartment.
This plot is a bit similar to the Polish missile oolong two months ago, when Russia and Ukraine also said something similar...
"Deadliest incident of civilian casualties"
On the 14th, an apartment building in Dnipro City, Ukraine was suddenly attacked by missiles, causing a large number of civilian casualties.
The Ukrainian emergency services announced on the 16th that the death toll in the attack on the apartment building has increased to 40 people. In addition, 39 people have been rescued, 75 people were injured, and 46 people are still missing.
Reuters called it the "deadliest civilian casualty" since the Ukraine crisis.
The missile instantly leveled the nine-story building.
"We all live in buildings like this and we all imagine what would happen if this happened to us. It's horrific," said Polina, a nearby resident.
Ukraine has blamed Russian missiles for hitting Ukrainian civilian apartments, describing the incident as an act of "terrorism".
Tymoshenko, deputy director of the Ukrainian President's Office, posted on his official social account that the apartment building was hit by a Russian missile.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of being "too cowardly to speak out" about the attack.
Zelensky also took the opportunity to say that the Dnipro attack highlighted the need for the West to speed up the supply of weapons.
This also proves that Ukraine currently needs more weapons to defeat the Russian army.
Uzbekistan: "We are not capable of doing this"
Is the Russian side responsible for the missile hitting the residential building this time?
A senior adviser to the Ukrainian president accidentally made a slip of the tongue.
A residential building exploded after Ukrainian air defenses intercepted a Russian missile that eventually hit the site, senior adviser to the Ukrainian president Alexei Arestovich said.
"The 'missile' was shot down. It apparently landed on an apartment block. But it exploded on fall," he said.
CNN stated that Arestovich's remarks aroused the anger of many Ukrainian government and military officials, who accused them of tarnishing the image of the Ukrainian military and identifying Ukraine as a guilty party.
The mayor of Dnipro even slammed the presidential adviser as a "narcissistic animal and a foul mouth", urging Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) to intervene.
In order to refute Arestovich's remarks, the Ukrainian Air Force also publicly stated that the Ukrainian army does not have the means to intercept Russian KH-22 cruise missiles.
On January 14, five Russian Tu-22m3 long-range bombers fired five Kh-22 cruise missiles over Kursk Oblast and the Sea of Azov, according to the Air Force.
One of the Kh-22 missiles hit a high-rise building in Dnipro.
"Since Russia began its military operations, more than 210 of these missiles have been fired into Ukraine, none of which have been shot down by our air defenses."
Under pressure from many parties, Arestovich also quickly apologized, saying his words were only a "version" of events, not the ultimate truth.
However, he later walked back the apology, insisting his remarks were carefully worded and did not deny that "Russia was the real culprit".
Russia: "They have admitted it themselves"
Regarding Ukraine's accusations, Russia's response was also very clear, not only denying that it caused the apartment building attack, but also implying that Ukrainian officials admitted that "you did it."
Russian presidential press secretary and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Ukrainian government was responsible for the deadly blast.
Peskov told reporters: "The Russian armed forces are targeting only military targets, and you have also seen some statements from the Ukrainian side that this tragedy is the result of an anti-aircraft missile operation by the Ukrainian army."
The Russian Ministry of Defense also stated that the missile attack on the 14th was aimed at the command and control system of the Ukrainian military and related energy infrastructure.
"All designated targets were hit," it said.
This plot looks familiar
The missile attack on the Dnipro apartment was very similar to the missile incident in Poland two months ago.
The same plot is that Russia and Ukraine insist on their own opinions, and each thinks that the other is the culprit.
The biggest difference is that one took place in Ukraine and the other in Poland, a NATO country.
The latter was more dynamic, and the results of the investigation came out faster.
On November 15, 2022, a missile exploded in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, killing two people.
As soon as the missile exploded, Polish media and officials said that it might be a "Russian missile" that fell into Polish territory.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also quickly issued a document, blaming Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba further denied that the missile was launched by a Ukrainian air defense system, saying it was a "conspiracy theory" promoted by Russia.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement denying it immediately, saying that the Russian army did not use lethal weapons to attack targets in the U-Bo border area.
Some reports in the Polish media are "deliberately provocative."
US President Biden also "slapped" Ukraine's statement, saying that "judging from the ballistic trajectory, it (the missile) is unlikely to be launched from Russia."
Initial investigations by both the United States and NATO indicated that the explosion may have been caused by a Ukrainian missile.
But Ukraine does not intend to "take responsibility", and NATO does not want to make a big fuss, so the matter is finally let go.