DISINFO: Dnipro tragedy was the fault of Kyiv
SUMMARY
The tragedy in Dnipro was the fault of Kyiv. A Russian missile launched at an energy infrastructure facility was hit by Ukrainian air defences. And since the air defence system was placed in a residential area in violation of international humanitarian law, the downed missile fell on a residential building.
RESPONSE
A recent disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that a Ukrainian air-defence missile hit an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 14 January 2023.
It was not a Ukrainian missile that killed at least 40 people and wounded 76. It was a Russian Kh-22 missile that hit that apartment building. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) published the names of some Russian servicemen involved in the attack.
While international humanitarian observers have expressed concern about some isolated breaches of international humanitarian law by Ukrainian forces in the war, such as occasional mistreatment of Russian prisoners (which the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights described as “sporadic cases of torture and ill-treatment”) or suspicions of executing Russian soldiers who had surrendered, they didn’t find a systematic pattern of abuse. In addition, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly expressed their willingness to address, investigate and punish potential abuses and war crimes by its own forces.
Contrary to what this disinformation story affirms, Russian forces have systematically violated international humanitarian law, including mass executions and torture, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and the forceful abduction of children.
Read more disinformation cases about Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine which broke out on 24 February 2022.