The SBU reported suspicions in absentia to the commanders of the Russian army due to an attack on a children’s playground in Kryvyi Rih

The Security Service of Ukraine reports that it informed in absentia about the suspicion of four Russian military commanders involved in a rocket attack on a playground in Kryvyi Rih, as a result of which 20 people, including nine children, died in April of this year.

“As the investigation established, the overall leadership of the attack was carried out by Colonel-General Oleksiy Kim – the chief of staff of the joint group of Russian troops. To organize the missile strike, he involved Vice Admiral Oleksandr Peshkov, the head of the Joint Center for Planning and Coordination of the Fire Attack of the Enemy. According to the investigation, the preparation and technical support of the air attack was entrusted to Rear Admiral Oleksiy Petrushin, the head of the center for managing intelligence and coordinating fire damage to the enemy of the combined group of Russian troops. Together with him, these tasks were carried out by the head of the missile forces and artillery of the united group of troops of the aggressor country, Colonel Oleksandr Kisedobrev,” the message says.

The SBU noted that the Russian military used an Iskander-M ballistic missile with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead to strike a residential building and a children’s playground in a densely populated area of ​​the central part of the city.

The investigators of the Security Service informed the four Russian commanders in absentia about the suspicion of “war crimes that caused the death of people, committed by a group of persons according to a previous conspiracy.”

The UN monitoring mission said the attack was the highest number of children killed in a single strike since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian regions with various types of weapons – attack UAVs, rockets, anti-aircraft missiles, and anti-aircraft missiles.

The leadership of Russia denies that the Russian army during a full-scale war inflicts targeted strikes on the civilian infrastructure of the cities and villages of Ukraine, killing the civilian population and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities.

The Ukrainian authorities and international organizations qualify these strikes as war crimes of the Russian Federation and emphasize that they are purposeful in nature.