NYT: Evidence Suggests Ukraine Carried Out Missile Strike on Ukrainian Market Which They Blamed on Russia

"The attack appears to have been a tragic mishap," the Times reports
Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Sep. 19, 2023

Ukrainian forces carried out a missile strike on a market in eastern Ukraine and then falsely blamed Russia for the attack, according to analysis from the New York Times.

From The New York Times, "Evidence Suggests Ukrainian Missile Caused Market Tragedy":
The Sept. 6 missile strike on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine was one of the deadliest in the country in months, killing at least 15 civilians and injuring more than 30 others. The weapon's payload of metal fragments struck a market, piercing windows and walls and wounding some victims beyond recognition.

Less than two hours later, President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russian "terrorists" for the attack, and many media outlets followed suit. Throughout its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly and systematically attacked civilians and struck schools, markets and residences as a deliberate tactic to instill fear in the populace. In Kostiantynivka in April, they shelled homes and a preschool, killing six.

But evidence collected and analyzed by The New York Times, including missile fragments, satellite imagery, witness accounts and social media posts, strongly suggests the catastrophic strike was the result of an errant Ukrainian air defense missile fired by a Buk launch system.

The attack appears to have been a tragic mishap. Air defense experts say missiles like the one that hit the market can go off course for a variety of reasons, including an electronic malfunction or a guidance fin that is damaged or sheared off at the time of launch.

[...] Ukrainian authorities initially tried to prevent journalists with The Times from accessing the missile debris and impact area in the strike's immediate aftermath. But the reporters were eventually able to get to the scene, interview witnesses and collect remnants of the weapon used.

Security camera footage shows that the missile flew into Kostiantynivka from the direction of Ukrainian-held territory, not from behind Russian lines.

As the sound of the approaching missile is heard, at least four pedestrians appear to simultaneously turn their heads toward the incoming sound. They face the camera — in the direction of Ukrainian-held territory. Moments before it strikes, the missile's reflection is visible as it passes over two parked cars, showing it traveling from the northwest.




The missile's warhead detonates a few yards above the ground shortly before impact, blasting metal fragments outward. The resulting crater and damage extending from the point of detonation is consistent with a missile coming from a northwesterly route, according to an explosives expert and a Times analysis.

Further evidence reveals that minutes before the strike, the Ukrainian military launched two surface-to-air missiles toward the Russian front line from the town of Druzhkivka, 10 miles northwest of Kostiantynivka.

Reporters with The Times were in Druzhkivka when they heard an outgoing missile launch at 2 p.m., followed a few minutes later by a second. By chance, one member of the team recorded the first launch in a voice message.
Missile fragments, scorch marks on the ground from where the missile was likely fired and multiple witness testimonies also indicated Ukraine was responsible for the strike, the Times reported.

I guess the Zelensky regime is going to have to add the New York Times to that Myrotvorets database now!

Incidentally, the popular pro-Russian Twitter account Lord Bebo actually had the story two weeks ago:





The bombing took place on the same day US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visited Kiev and pledged to give Ukraine another $1 billion in aid.

In a similar incident in Nov 2022, the Zelensky regime struck Poland with a missile, falsely blamed Russia for the attack and exploited the bombing to try and draw the US/NATO directly into the war.

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