The commander of the land forces Ukraine Michael Drapati announced today (1/6/25) that he had resigned, saying that he was “responsible” for the deaths of at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian blows to a field of education.
At least 12 soldiers were killed and more than 60 were injured by a Russian missile blow in their field of training, the Ukrainian land army had announced earlier.
“Today, June 1st, the enemy launched a missile blow to the installation of one of the training units,” the land army wrote.
“I decided to resign from the position of the Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces inland forces,” Michael Drapati wrote in a moving message posted on the Telegram.
This decision is dictated by a “personal sense of responsibility for the tragedy (noted) in the field of training 239” he said, after several similar murder attacks in recent months.
After the Russian invasion began in February 2022, the Russian army repeatedly struck facilities where Ukrainian soldiers are gathered, sometimes away from the front
These attacks have caused criticism in Ukraine, with political officials accusing, for example, the military administration of creating easy targets and endangering soldiers by gathering them all together.
Michael Drapati said today that he tried to “change the attitude” of his subordinates.
“The culture of secrecy and impunity is poison for the army”he complained, stressing that he tried to “uproot” them. “But if such tragedies are still being made, it means that my efforts were not enough,” he added.
The land army had clarified that there was no “rally or mass concentration”, in the place aimed at.
The “more” soldiers had also rushed to an anti -aircraft refuge when the alarm he warned of an impending attack, the army said.
Internal research will be done to clarify the conditions of the blow. If it turns out that death and injuries of soldiers are the result of actions or inactivity by those responsible, the culprits will be strictly punished, ”the army said.
At the end of May, six Ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than ten were injured by a Russian blow to a field of training in the Sumi region of northeast Ukraine, which borders Russia.
In March, a Russian attack on a military education field caused the deaths of many soldiers, more than 100 kilometers from the front line. The army had not given the exact number of victims.
Commander Drapati had then complained to military officials who were “performing their duties”.
In September 2024, a Russian air attack on a military institute in Poltava, Central Ukraine, caused the deaths of about 60 people and injuring more than 300.