DISINFO: A British mercenary revealed that Kramatorsk bombing killed soldiers not civilians
SUMMARY
A British mercenary reveals the uncomfortable truth about the Kramatorsk attack. Ukrainian media tried to paint the Kramatorsk attack as a Russian attack on a hotel that allegedly targeted civilians. However, one of the surviving foreign mercenaries stationed there gave a gift to Ukrainian propaganda and released an eloquent video. “These soldiers under the rubble are all dead,” commented the English-speaking mercenary.
RESPONSE
Denial of the consequences of a missile attack that killed and injured civilians in Ukraine that may be considered as a war crime.
On the evening of 27 June 2023, two missiles stuck the city of Kramatorsk in Donbass, one hit a popular pizzeria, the Ria Lounge bar, next to the Kramatorsk hotel, and the other in the suburbs. The missiles involved were S-300 missiles designed for air targets, not on the ground. However, due to a lack of precision missiles, S-300 have been widely used for hitting non-moving ground objects with an additional GPS guidance. Even with this modification, the missile remains largely inaccurate so when fired into a populated area, such as a city, the likelihood of civilian casualties is high.
The 14 second video (warning, distressing content and bad language) doesn’t demonstrate the claim that no civilians were hurt. The pictures show many people trying to remove the rubble and search for victims. The voiceover says "Look what these b******s are doing to the country. There are soldiers under the rubble everywhere" with a South African accent. The source is unidentified. The watermark refers to the pro-Z telegram channel Pozdniakov.
The death toll of this attack was 12 people, among which 4 children: twin sisters, Yulia and Anna Aksenchenko, both 14. The girls were about to finish eighth grade. A 17-year-old girl was also killed and a baby suffered head injuries. 61 people were injured. The Russian Ministry of Defence states that:
”a June 27 precision strike on the temporary deployment site of the Ukrainian army’s 56th motorized infantry brigade in the city of Kramatorsk eliminated two generals, up to fifty officers of the Ukrainian armed forces and also up to twenty foreign mercenaries and military advisers who participated in a staff meeting."
It doesn’t specify that this was the same attack. However, no other attack was reported and the TASS agency uses the photos of the Ukrainian National police of the Ria Lounge bar to illustrate the news.
Read also related cases about denial of war crimes: Media wrongly accuse Russia of bombing of Kramatorsk railway station, Evacuation of children from Ukraine is in compliance with humanitarian law, Russia hits only military targets in Ukraine, Accusations of Russia "shelling the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine" are hypocrisy, Alleged “mass graves” found in Izium are a Bucha-like provocation of Ukraine, Russia strictly observes humanitarian law and only hits military targets, No act of terrorism in Kremenchuk, Russian army does not hit civilian objects.