Russian strike killed 10 people at a weapons exhibition near Kyiv. Ukraine is now investigating who authorized it during the raids

A Russian ballistic missile struck a publicly advertised defense industry exhibition on the outskirts of Kyiv on Friday, and according to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, at least ten people were killed and more than a hundred injured. Alongside investigating the Russian strike as a war crime, however, Ukraine has also opened a second, unusual proceeding — into why a mass, publicly advertised defense industry event was held at all in the middle of a war and within reach of Russian ballistic missiles. The prosecutor's office wants to determine who decided on the location, timing, and format of the event, and military experts are speaking openly of needless deaths. A day later, prosecutors detained the event's main organizer and are charging him with dereliction of duty; the IRON cluster canceled its August exhibition in Lviv.

What happened in the Bucha district

The Air Force stated that Russia fired three Iskander-M/S-400 missiles at the Kyiv region from a northern direction; one of them was shot down, and two hit the Bucha district. Censor.NET ↗

President Volodymyr Zelensky first spoke of six dead and dozens injured; Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko later raised the toll to at least ten dead and more than a hundred injured. Kyiv Independent ↗, Interfax-Ukraine ↗

Other outlets reported the same toll citing Ukrainian authorities — Kyiv Post and the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera wrote of around ten dead and a hundred injured, making it one of the bloodiest single strikes in recent weeks. Kyiv Post ↗, Al Jazeera ↗

A second investigation: who decided on the exhibition

Update, July 26. The question posed in this article's title got an answer within less than a day. The prosecutor's office announced that the event's main organizer had been detained and is being charged with dereliction of duty. Interfax-Ukraine ↗ The organizer was also notified of suspicion, as reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko as well. Ukrainska Pravda ↗ Censor.NET ↗ Foreign media also picked up the detention — Germany's n-tv and Austria's ORF both featured it as the main line of the case. n-tv ↗ ORF ↗
Alongside the war crime charge under Article 438 of the Criminal Code, directed against Russia, the prosecutor's office also opened proceedings under Article 367 — for possible negligent performance of official duties in organizing and running the event, which led to loss of life. Interfax ↗, Censor.NET ↗

Investigators are to determine who decided to hold the event and who approved the location, timing, and format. "War does not absolve responsibility for managerial decisions. On the contrary, it demands maximum professionalism, prudence, and awareness of every step," Kravchenko wrote. Interfax ↗

The Irish Times summed it up bluntly: Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating "why the defense exhibition was held and publicly promoted despite the risk of a Russian strike." The Irish Times ↗

"We're helping the Russians kill," criticism from within

Update, July 26. The criticism translated into action. The head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, declared after the attack that the security of such events "must be guaranteed at the highest level." Interfax-Ukraine ↗ The defense technology cluster IRON subsequently canceled its IRON DEMO 2026 exhibition, which was to be held on August 28–29 in Lviv. Interfax-Ukraine ↗ Censor.NET ↗
The sharpest words came from within Ukraine's own ranks. Serhiy Sternenko, an adviser to the Ministry of Defense, wrote: "Organizing mass military events in the open air within a zone of ballistic strikes amounts to helping the Russians kill people." The Irish Times ↗

Serhiy Beskrestnov, a recognized expert on military radio communications who goes by "Flash," said he had deliberately not gone to the event. Among the risk factors he listed were the lack of shelter, the event's advertisement online, the large number of participants, the location within range of ballistic missiles, and the premature disclosure of the venue. "When I see risks, I don't go to the training ground," he wrote. Interfax ↗

A training ground, or a private sports complex?

Ukrainian sources contradict each other in describing the site that was hit. The regional administration and some experts spoke of a military training ground near the highway to Zhytomyr, but Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat clarified: "It is not a training ground, it is a private sports complex and has nothing to do with the military." Censor.NET ↗

The Ukrainian Council of the Defense Industry denies organizing the event and claims that "neither the invitation nor the registration link stated the venue." Kyiv Independent ↗ According to Interfax, the missile hit a location where representatives of Ukraine's defense industry were present. Interfax ↗ Moreover, the strike came a day after Zelensky met with the American company Raytheon to discuss joint production of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems — the defense industry was precisely in the spotlight at the time. Al Jazeera ↗

What hotinfo is following

The prosecution's proceedings under Article 367 — whether specific individual responsibility will be established for the decision to hold the exhibition, or whether the investigation will fizzle out.

The final casualty toll, since the numbers rose during the day from six to more than ten dead. Ukrainska Pravda ↗

The response of the command and government — whether rules for public military and defense-industry events within range of Russian ballistic missiles will be tightened.

Who actually organized and authorized the event, since the Council of the Defense Industry denies involvement in its preparation.