File Photo: Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov visit an artillery training centre, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Ukraine November 3, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLVIV, Ukraine, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence minister ordered on Saturday an investigation into an alleged Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukrainian assault brigade, after reports that more than 20 soldiers were killed during an awards ceremony.
"My condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers from the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Transcarpathian Brigade," Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said in a social media statement, adding that he had ordered a "full investigation."
In its daily reports on battlefield activities, the Russian Defence Ministry said only that Russian forces "inflicted fire" on a unit of Ukraine's assault brigade in the region, killing up to 30 military personnel.
Both Russia and Ukraine have often underestimated their military casualties in the 20-month-long war, while exaggerating the losses they claim to have inflicted upon each other.
Persons:
Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Rustem Umerov, Elaine Monaghan, Lidia Kelly, Michael Perry
Organizations:
Ukrainian Armed Forces, Defence, Presidential Press Service, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Transcarpathian Brigade, Ukrainian Defence, Armed Forces, Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Ukraine, Rights LVIV, Russian, Russia, Zaporizhzhia, Washington, Melbourne