2023 Kramatorsk restaurant missile strike

On the evening of 27 June 2023, at around 7:30 p.m., Russia launched two Iskander[1] ballistic missile strikes against civilian buildings in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The main target was a pizza restaurant which housed up to 80 customers and staff at that time. Thirteen people were killed, including Ukrainian novelist Victoria Amelina, a 17-year-old girl, a pair of 14-year old twin sisters and Ian Tortorici, a US Marine Corps veteran,[3] while 61 were injured in the explosions. Another missile hit a village on the outskirts of Kramatorsk, injuring five more people.[4][5][6]

Not to be confused with Kramatorsk railway station attack (8 April 2022) or February 2015 Kramatorsk rocket attack.

June 2023 Kramatorsk missile strike
Part of the eastern Ukraine campaign
Kramatorsk restaurant after the Russian missile strike
LocationKramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
Coordinates48°44′07″N 37°35′13″E
Date27 June 2023
7:30 pm
WeaponIskander ballistic missile[1]
Deaths13[2][1]
Injured61
Perpetrators Russia

The restaurant was popular among locals, soldiers, foreign correspondents and aid workers.[7] Among the injured were Colombian novelist and journalist Héctor Abad Faciolince and his friend Sergio Jaramillo Caro,[7][8] as well as Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who died from her injuries a few days later.[1] Kramatorsk was 24 kilometers from the battle front at the time.[5]

Responses

The attack occurred shortly after the conclusion of the Wagner Group rebellion in Russia, which threatened the authority of Vladimir Putin.[5] High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as "Russian terror against Ukrainian civilians". The Ukrainian army later arrested a man suspected of having spied on the vehicles parked outside the restaurant and forwarding the video to the Russian military intelligence.[5]

US President Joe Biden condemned the attack and said that Putin became a "pariah around the world".[8] Denise Brown, UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, issued a statement describing the attack as "another example of [the] inexcusable level of suffering Russia’s invasion is inflicting on the people of Ukraine. International humanitarian law protects civilians and civilian infrastructure, and everything must be done to minimize or avoid civilian harm, including by verifying targets".[9]

Course of events

Pizzeria "Ria Pizza" was one of the most popular entertainment establishments in Kramatorsk, where frequent visitors, in addition to local residents, were foreign journalists and humanitarian workers, as well as Ukrainian military personnel stationed nearby and those returning from the front.[10][11] At the time of the attack, the restaurant was full of military and civilians (about 100 people), and in one of the halls there was a banquet for 45 people.[12][13] The distance to the line of combat collision is less than 25 km.[14]

At the time of the attack, the air alert signal was not announced in the Donetsk region. The last time the siren sounded was between 18:00 —19:14 and immediately after the explosion 19:35 —21:27.[15]

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andrii Kostin reported that the Russians shelled Kramatorsk with Iskander-M missiles.[16]

Victims

Pizzeria employees:

  1. Andriichuk Kateryna Andriivna, born 2004 (18 years old; cook)
  2. Bashkeeva Zoryana Valeriivna, born 1999 (24 years old; waitress)
  3. Yevgenia Oleksandrivna Golovchenko, born December 2005 (17; dryer)
  4. Mykyta Valentynovich Dolgopol, born April 25, 1999 (24; senior cook)
  5. Zakharov Roman Ruslanovich (20 years old, waiter)
  6. Valeriya Ruslanivna Simonnik, born August 23, 2005 (17; dryer)
  7. Titoruk Artur Volodymyrovych, born 1994 (28 years old; administrator)

Pizzeria visitors:

  1. Twin sisters Yulia and Anna Aksenchenko, born September 4, 2008 (14; schoolchildren)
  2. Amelina Viktoriya Yuriivna, born January 1, 1986 (37; writer) [17]
  3. Orlovsky Artur (30 years old, entrepreneur)
  4. Artem Olegovich Suhoviy (22 years old, combat paramedic 1 ShB 3 OShBr)[18]
  5. Ian Tortorici, call sign "Frank" (23 years old, volunteer International Legion, former US Marine)[19]

From June 30 to July 2, the city announced mourning for those killed in the Russian missile attack on the pizzeria cafe.[20] At the same time, despite the tragedy, the city's entertainment facilities continue to operate.

On July 1, the writer Amelina Viktoriya Yuriivna, who was wounded during this rocket attack on a restaurant in Kramatorsk, died of her wounds.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Ukraine says suspect directed Russia missile attack in Kramatorsk". Al Jazeera. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. "Kramatorsk: Ukraine accuses man of treason over deadly Russian missile attack". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. Jeff Schogol (3 July 2023). "Marine veteran killed by Russian missile strike on restaurant in Ukraine". Task & Purpose. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  4. Sunita Patel-Carstairs (27 June 2023). "Ukraine war: Russian missile 'designed to bring down a plane' hits crowded pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk". Sky News. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. Ivana Kottasová (27 June 2023). "Kramatorsk restaurant strike shows that in Ukraine, death can come any time, anywhere". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  6. Mayeni Jones, James Gregory (27 June 2023). "Kramatorsk: Russian missile strike hits restaurants in Ukrainian city". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. Cassandra Vinograd, Thomas Gibbons-Neff (27 June 2023). "A Russian missile hits a crowded restaurant in Kramatorsk, killing at least 4". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  8. Luke Harding (27 June 2023). "Four children among 11 killed in missile strike on Ukraine pizza restaurant". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. "Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, on the attack on Kramatorsk". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 27 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  10. "As rescuers sift through the rubble of a Kramatorsk restaurant, distraught relatives wait for news". The New York Times. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  11. "At least 11 killed when missile strike hits popular restaurant in Kramatorsk". The Washington Post. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  12. "Kramatorsk restaurant strike shows that in Ukraine, death can come any time, anywhere". CNN. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  13. ""Fire, smoke, people are lying on the floor, many are screaming": what eyewitnesses say about the shelling of Kramatorsk" (in Ukrainian). Kramatorsk Post. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  14. "ЗСУ штурмом взяли позицію росіян в районі Оріхово-Василівки: відео і мапа" (in Ukrainian). Апостроф. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  15. "Map of alarms of Ukraine". Map of air alarms of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  16. "Russians shelled Kramatorsk with "Iskanders" - Prosecutor General". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  17. "Writer Viktoria Amelina has died" (in Ukrainian). Public | News. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  18. ""He loved life": a 22-year-old combat medic from Cherkasy died in the war with Russia" (in Ukrainian). Public | News. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  19. "U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Orange County killed in Ukraine". CBS News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  20. "A three-day mourning period was announced in Kramatorsk for those killed in the Russian attack on the pizzeria". Ukrainian Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  21. "The writer Viktoriya Amelina died after being wounded in Kramatorsk". Ukrainian Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 3 July 2023.
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