Ukraine’s presidential adviser resigned after saying that a Russian missile that hit a building in Dnieper and killed 44 people was shot down by Kyiv and actually caused the deaths. After his words caused outrage considering the fact that Ukraine is incapable of shooting down such a missile, he apologized and announced his resignation
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arstovich announced his resignation after claiming that a Russian missile that hit a building in Dnieper and killed 44 people was shot down by Ukraine. Mr. Erstovich apologized and said he had made a “fundamental mistake.”
His words caused widespread anger in the country, and were used by Russian officials to blame Ukraine. The consultant is a well-known figure because of his daily updates on YouTube, which are watched by millions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has yet to comment on Mr. Arastovych’s decision to resign.
Hours after last Saturday’s missile strike hit an apartment building in Dnipro, Mr. Arstovich initially said it appeared the Russian missile had fallen on the building after being shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
But Ukraine said that the building was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, and it does not have the ability to shoot it down and according to the reports it is very inaccurate. Ukrainians reacted angrily to Mr. Arstovitch’s words, with some accusing him of bolstering the Russian propaganda position. Several Ukrainian members of parliament have signed a petition calling for Mr. Arstovich to be fired as a government official. He published a letter about his resignation and said he had made a “fundamental mistake”.
“I offer my sincere apologies to the victims and their relatives, the residents of Dnipro and everyone who was deeply hurt by my prematurely incorrect version of the reason for the Russian missile hitting a residential building,” he wrote in a post on Telegram.
Mr. Arstovich is one of the most public Ukrainian faces of the war, using his YouTube channel to hold daily discussions on war-related topics. The channel has more than 1.6 million subscribers, and its videos often have more than 200,000 views. Unusually for Ukrainian officials, he speaks Russian rather than Ukrainian.
Before his resignation, his words were used by Russian officials to blame Kyiv for the missile hitting the residential building, the BBC reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian attacks “do not hit residential buildings” and claimed they were caused by Ukrainian air defense, according to him even “some representatives from the Ukrainian side say so.”
Ukrainian officials have said so far that at least 44 people were killed in Saturday’s attack, including several missing, and that there was “minimal chance” of finding them alive.