20 dead, including 9 children, and 44 injured as a result of a missile strike by the Russian Federation on a playground in Kryvyi Rih: the prosecutor's office has reported suspicions against four high-ranking officials of the Russian Armed Forces.

On April 4, 2025, at 18:50, military units of the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on a playground in a residential area of Kryvyi Rih.  

According to the investigation, the strike was carried out with a ballistic missile "Iskander-M" equipped with a fragmentation-explosive warhead.

As a result of the explosion, 20 civilians were killed, including nine children aged 3 to 17 years. Another 44 people were injured, including seven children. Residential apartment buildings, educational institutions, and citizens' vehicles were damaged.

Under the procedural guidance of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, four senior military officials of the Russian Armed Forces have been charged in absentia with committing war crimes (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Among the suspects:

•  Colonel General – Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the Joint Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces;

•  Vice Admiral – Deputy Commander of the Joint Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces for Fire Damage - Head of the Joint Center for Planning and Coordination of Fire Damage;

•  Rear Admiral – Head of the Center for Intelligence Management and Coordination of Enemy Fire Damage of the Joint Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces;

•  Colonel – Head of the Missile Troops and Artillery Management of the Joint Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces.

These military officials planned, coordinated, and made the decision to carry out a missile strike on the civilian population.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. It is being conducted by investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

For reference: the ballistic missile "Iskander-M" with a fragmentation-explosive warhead is a precision weapon, after the explosion of which hundreds to thousands of fragments scatter, capable of hitting people and objects within dozens of meters around. Due to the extremely short flight time, the population had no opportunity to take cover.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.