DISINFO: Russian strike on Ukrainian army base in Kramatorsk kills 50 officers, 20 mercenaries
SUMMARY
A Russian precision strike on the temporary base of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 56th Motorised Infantry Brigade in Kramatorsk killed two generals, up to 50 officers, and up to 20 foreign mercenaries and military advisers.
RESPONSE
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The "temporary base" struck by Russian Iskander missiles was RIA Lounge, a pizzeria in central Kramatorsk known to be popular among international war correspondents and foreign volunteers. According to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, the shelling killed 12 people, including three children, and injured over 60.
Even if Ukrainian military personnel had been present at the scene during the strike, this did not make the pizzeria a legitimate military target. Under the 1977 First Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions:
Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives. [...] In case of doubt whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes [...] is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used [Art. 52 (2, 3)].
See here for additional debunking by POLYGRAPH.info. For other instances of pro-Kremlin outlets denying Russian war crimes in Ukraine, see here, here, and here.