Lining up at the Novomoskovske training ground: there are two criminal proceedings and no suspects
17 April 10:54
Despite the military leadership’s promises to name the perpetrators
onMarch 1, an Iskander-M missile strike on the Novomoskovsky training ground killed and wounded, according to unofficial reports, more than 100 soldiers of the reserve 168th Brigade. The missile strike followed several hours of work by an enemy reconnaissance drone over the area, which was not eliminated, and the alarm at the training ground itself was ignored. In addition, the soldiers were also involved in lining up. As it turned out later, according to eyewitnesses, the location of the personnel was not equipped with shelters, camouflage nets, or air defense systems. There is also evidence that the soldiers did not have first aid equipment, which led to an increase in the number of victims of the attack. There are two criminal investigations into this tragedy, but so far, no one has been charged. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General in response to a request from Kommersant Ukrainian
The perpetrators have not been named yet
“…we inform you that investigators of the Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine in Dnipro region, under the procedural guidance of the Dnipro Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office, are conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 22025040000000328 of 01.03.2025 on the grounds of a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, on the fact that the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on the location of a military unit at a training ground in Dnipro region, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of soldiers. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. No one was served a notice of suspicion.
Also, investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the PGO are conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 62025000000000228 in id 03.03.2025 under Part 4 of Art. 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the fact of negligence of military officials to ensure the dispersal and safety of personnel. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. No one was served a notice of suspicion,” the OGP said in a statement .
Attack on the training ground
on March 1, the enemy attacked one of the military units on the territory of the training ground of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovs’k region with an Iskander-M ballistic missile in a cluster munition. The strike, according to preliminary data, was carried out by a Russian Orlan reconnaissance drone that had been hovering over the training ground for some time.
According to various estimates, 39 Ukrainian servicemen may have been killed and about 90 people injured. Official figures on the dead and wounded have not been released to this day. It is classified.
Only on March 3 was the information about the enemy attack officially confirmed.
“I was waiting for the first data so as not to be unfounded, and now I have to warn you: everyone who made decisions that day, and everyone who did not make them in time, will be held accountable. No one will hide behind explanations or formal reports. I foresee that they will try to hide the truth in the fog of bureaucracy. But I will not allow this,” wrote Mykhailo Drapaty, the Commander of the Land Forces.
At the time, Drapaty did not name the range that was hit, nor did he comment on the information about the Russian scout, the formation of soldiers, or the lack of shelters. Subsequently, it became clear from the statements of eyewitnesses and relatives of the dead soldiers that it was the Novomoskovsk training ground.
Who is responsible
According to journalist Yuriy Butusov, they are now trying to make the battalion commander the only one to blame, and he has been dismissed. However, the higher military leadership, the Land Forces Command (Commander Mykhailo Drapaty – ed.), the PC “East” (Commander Dmytro Bratishko – ed.), in particular, should be responsible, the journalist says.
“Attacks on the deployment points are constant. But even in the fourth year of the war, it is not possible to guarantee the safety of the troops and avoid heavy losses. The reason for this is the basic irresponsibility for the lives of the personnel on the part of the military leadership at all levels. Orders are issued that are not controlled or that contradict other tasks on which orders are also issued. There should be questions to all those who managed and controlled the organization of the 168th Reserve Battalion, the “East” JFO, the Army Command, the “East” PC, and the Air Force Command. Currently, all the blame is being placed solely on the battalion commander, who has been dismissed from his post,” Butusov informed.
Position of the Verkhovna Rada
The Defense Committee of the Verkhovna Rada stated that it planned to hear Drapaty in connection with the tragedy at the Novomoskovsky training ground
“We will study this (the tragedy at the training ground – ed.) at the committee. We have already discussed this issue among ourselves. We will definitely raise this topic and listen to people. First, who will be punished? (…) The agenda will be later. But the fact that we will listen to this is 100%. There is a desire to hear Drapaty himself on this issue,” said MP Gennadiy Kasay.
However, it is not yet known whether Drapaty or other representatives of the military command were invited to the meeting of the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada on this issue.
Eyewitness accounts
One of the soldiers who survived the shelling at the training ground, on condition of anonymity, told 
exclusively that he was saved by a phone call that forced him to move away from the center of the attack.
“We had formation three times a day. “The Eagle flew over us for three days. We were all NWOs who had returned voluntarily to continue their service in the Armed Forces. But we had not yet been assigned to combat units, that is, we were not officially part of any unit,” the soldier said.
He added that many of his comrades were wounded or killed, and no one now knows whether they/their families will receive payments and compensation, as the Khdop men were not attached to combat units, but were in a reserve brigade, where they arrived as independent contractors.
Another soldier, call sign “Hutsul ,” who also survived the attack, recalls how his group was lined up at around 3 p.m. He told this to Suspilne.
“When we were standing in line, I saw a Russian drone. Then there were four explosions,” said Hutsul.
According to ‘Hutsul’, there was no shelter near the training ground, and this greatly complicated the situation. After the explosions, the soldier helped other soldiers and was injured by shrapnel.
The mother of one of the soldiers who survived the shelling shared with journalists her conversation with her son.
“I asked him: when there is an air raid, are you ordered to hide? And he replied: ‘We have nowhere to hide. We have no shelter’. Only a trench, and that’s it,” the woman says.
