Mystery of Ukraine's medal ceremony turns into bloody tragedy

Soldiers of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of Ukraine (Photo: EPA).

The award ceremony on November 3 was supposed to continue a Soviet-era tradition maintained by Ukrainian officials to boost the morale of exhausted troops.

"It's like scenes from a Russian movie about World War II, soldiers standing in rows, it looks so majestic," said an anonymous member of Brigade 128.

The high casualty toll has raised troubling questions about why such a major event was held in a place within range of Russian drones and missiles.

Soldiers attend the funeral of a member of Ukraine's 128th Brigade on November 8 (Photo: Washington Post).

Unanswered Questions

According to some accounts, Russian missiles struck the crowd 10 minutes after the ceremony began at around 10am.

Medal ceremonies are typically small, with about 30 people in attendance, held in fortified bunkers or trenches. But the Nov. 3 gathering was in an open area and involved nearly 100 people, including many who did not receive medals, brigade members said.

"The crowd was made up of people from all the units - the best," said a Ukrainian serviceman with knowledge of the matter. "There were 43 people on the list for the medals, but there were more because they needed to get there by car. There were about 20 vehicles."

On October 6, the State Investigation Bureau of Ukraine announced the opening of a criminal investigation on the grounds of a military official's negligent attitude while performing his duties.

The rocket hit the courtyard area of ​​the building where the ceremony was taking place and the road outside.

"The medics said they had never seen anything like this since the outbreak of full-scale fighting" due to the number of head injuries, said an unnamed member of Brigade 128.

President Volodymyr Zelensky himself announced that the brigade commander, Dmytro Lysiuk, had been suspended while the investigation was carried out. Zelensky insisted that this was an avoidable tragedy.

Brigade members say the key question is how the Russians knew to target the ceremony.

"It is still unclear exactly what happened. Whether locals reported the gathering or there was a leak from the brigade's internal headquarters," said an unnamed brigade member.

But the attack must have been planned in advance, he said. "It's impossible to launch a missile in just two or 15 minutes. When the enemy targets it, they know there are a lot of officers and it will be a big hit," he said.

Mr Zelensky said the attack on the awards ceremony was an avoidable tragedy and affirmed that the incident was being investigated "minute by minute" to clarify what happened (Photo: AP).

There are conflicting reports about who planned the ceremony and when it was scheduled to begin. Some say the event was delayed by 30 minutes, leaving soldiers standing in the courtyard for a long time. The brigade commander arrived just minutes after the missile hit, according to another member of the 128th Brigade.

"Everyone was angry with the commander," the person said. "They could have ordered a move to another location or some shelter. Why this didn't happen, I don't know."

Still, after the attack, some officials defended the decision to hand out medals near the combat zone. Former Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said such ceremonies were “a very important part” of military culture.

"I myself had the honour of presenting ministerial and state awards to soldiers on the front lines - a very exciting moment for all," Maliar wrote, adding that such events were especially meaningful because "they took place in the presence of comrades and not alone."

The Russian side may have known about the ceremony because of an “accidental leak” caused by “human factors,” Ms. Maliar wrote.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/bi-an-le-trao-huy-chuong-ukraine-tro-thanh-bi-kich-dam-mau-20231110184133941.htm