Volodymyr Zelensky orders criminal investigation into deadly Russian strike at awards ceremony

Ukraine has opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of 19 soldiers killed in a Russian missile strike on an awards ceremony close to the war’s front lines.

Military officials would be held accountable for the rocket forces and artillery day event, held on Friday in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine’s state bureau of investigation said on Monday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, lamented the deaths of the soldiers from the 128th Separate Mountain-Assault Brigade as a “tragedy that could have been avoided”, in a rare sign of tension with his military.

“Criminal proceedings have been initiated,” he said.

“Every soldier in the combat zone – in the enemy’s line of fire and aerial reconnaissance – knows how to behave in the open, how to ensure safety.”

‘Flaming vehicles and dead bodies’

The strike took place 10 miles from the war’s front lines, where Russian reconnaissance drones operate.

The 128th brigade said its “best fighters have been killed”.

Yuriy Malashko, the Zaporizhzhia governor, said nine civilians had also been wounded in the attack on the village of Zarichne.

Drone footage circulated by Russian sources purportedly showed the moment the Ukrainian forces were hit during what appeared to be an open-air ceremony.

Further footage from the ground appeared to show the wreckage of flaming vehicles and bodies of dead Ukrainian servicemen.

Ruslan Kahanets, commander of Ukraine’s volunteer battalion, Sonechko, said there was “a pile of dead officers and soldiers”.

One video shared online featured a voiceover of a Ukrainian soldier saying: “As a result of this line-up, many Ukrainian defenders and civilians died.”

“Everyone on the front lines knows that a crowd of more than two people always provokes an arrival,” the soldier added.

Serhiy Sternenko, a Ukrainian volunteer, called for the commanding officer behind the parade to be jailed.

“There have already been many similar incidents, unfortunately. Without systemic changes, there will be more such incidents,” he added.

The Telegraph could not immediately verify the video clips.

Earlier this year, Ukraine killed more than 100 Russian troops lined up in the open to hear a general give a speech, in a strike using Himars rockets.

Special forces in Sudan

It came as Ukrainian special forces appeared to have been filmed fighting with Wagner mercenaries in Sudan.

A two-minute clip published by the Kyiv Post newspaper purports to show an elite unit of Ukraine’s military intelligence service surrounding a building at ground level.

The Ukrainian government has not officially acknowledged the deployment of its special forces to Sudan or operations targeting Wagner fighters in the country.

But a Ukrainian intelligence source told The Telegraph that the videos showed Ukrainian strikes on Wagner in the West African state.

The Telegraph could not independently verify the claims.

Kyiv’s forces are known to be already stretched in Ukraine, making an expansion into Africa an unlikely possibility.

Meanwhile, in Russia Vladimir Putin decided to stay in power until at least 2030, according to Kremlin sources.

Putin plans to stand for a fifth term in office in a presidential election next March, the sources said, with his advisers already said to be preparing for the campaign.

The 71-year-old reportedly wants to remain in control of the Kremlin to steer Russia through its most tumultuous period in decades after it invaded Ukraine in February last year, prompting the West to impose an array of sanctions on Moscow.

“The decision has been made – he will run,” said a source who was reported to have knowledge of the planning.

Putin, who has dominated the Russian political landscape for the past two decades, is almost certain to win the election should he contest it.

His approval ratings inside Russia stand at 80 per cent, he can count on the support of state media and faces no mainstream opposition to speak of, making the result an expected formality.

Alexei Navalny, the opposition politician and Putin’s foremost critic, is in jail. The 47-year-old is serving terms that will keep him in prison until he is in his mid-70s unless he is freed early.