Russian missile strike kills gathering of Ukrainian soldiers near frontline, sparking criticism of Ukraine’s military leadership

Russian forces struck a shooting range near the frontline with an Iskander missile, killing Ukrainian soldiers in Shostka, northeastern Sumy Oblast.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims they targeted a training camp near Shostka for the 1st Special Purpose Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Territorial Defense. As a result of the “Iskander” strike, they claim up to 70 military personnel were killed, including 20 instructors, as well as an ammunition depot and 10 pieces of equipment.

From the Ukrainian side, the missile strike was first reported by the Sumy Regional Military Administration. They announced damage to the infrastructure of one enterprise. Later, they added that seven residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged in the Shostka community.

Later, the National Guard of Ukraine confirmed the Russian military strike on a shooting range. They reported that six Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the attack, and 10 more were wounded.

A service investigation was initiated after this strike. The commander of the military unit was suspended, and the necessary information was transferred to law enforcement agencies. They also promised to provide a “harsh legal assessment” of all officials involved, but no one was held accountable so far.

People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharenko condemned military leadership for conducting exercises near the Russian border, saying “a drone hovered over it for a long time” before the strike.

“This is a complete disaster. […]This is a crime. By those who decided to conduct military training practically on the front line. People have completely stopped being valued. From orders to remain surrounded to training grounds right next to the enemy,” Honcharenko wrote.

Meanwhile, a special correspondent of the leading Ukrainian news agency TSN, Yulia Kyriyenko-Merinova, clarified that this was not a training center but a shooting range that every military unit stationed on the front line has.

 “This was not a formation. Not an award ceremony. Most importantly, not 70 casualties!! It was a hit by a high-explosive Iskander. One should understand the difference between a training center and a shooting range near the front line and not sow betrayal,” she emphasized, criticizing Ukrainian bloggers for rushing to share Russian information without verification.

Previous Russian strikes on Ukrainian training grounds

Russians have repeatedly struck training grounds where Ukrainian troops gather, especially during large organized award ceremonies amid hostilities.

In November 2023, Russians attacked soldiers of the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade when they gathered for an award ceremony on Artillery Day in the frontline area of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, resulting in 19 soldiers killed.

After the attack, President Zelenskyy announced the suspension of the brigade’s commander, Dmytro Lysiuk, pending an investigation into violations of safety regulations that left the group vulnerable to enemy aerial reconnaissance. 

The most recent such incident occurred on 1 March 2025, when the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the occupiers struck the “Novomoskovskyi” military training ground in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with an “Iskander-M” missile, killing more than 30 military personnel.