A Russian missile strike that targeted a Ukrainian military training ground in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast allegedly killed nearly 200 soldiers and instructors, according to Russian reports.
Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander General Mykhailo Drapatyi confirmed the strike on a training ground in the village of Cherkaske, which occurred during a formation exercise on March 1, but he did not disclose the number of fatalities.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, which claimed responsibility for the attack, up to 150 Ukrainian servicemembers and 30 foreign instructors were killed in the strike. These figures have not been independently verified.
“A tragedy at a training ground is a terrible consequence of an enemy strike,” Drapatyi said in a post on Facebook.
Drapatyi added that military counterintelligence would conduct an independent review to determine whether failures in security protocols contributed to the incident.
“I have ordered an independent investigation involving military counterintelligence to ensure that no detail is overlooked and that those responsible are identified and cannot cover it up. I will demand the harshest punishment.”
“Those who, after years of war, continue to perform their duties carelessly and formally, those who drag the military into outdated procedures, neglecting their safety and those who assert their authority not in battle but by oppressing their subordinates – all of them disgrace the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Later on March 3, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that the head of the unit training center and the commander of the military unit that was hit had been suspended from duty.
Prior to Ukraine’s announcement, footage began circulating on social media about a Russian attack on a Ukrainian military site. Moscow said they attacked the training site used by the 157th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces using an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
Russian Missile Strike (Iskander) at the Ukrainian military training ground in Dnepropetrovsk.
150 soldiers of Nazi Ukraine and 30 NATO instructors left the Nazi chats forever ☠️ pic.twitter.com/sRgY98csin— Alexander Ivanov (@innova_center) March 1, 2025
Reports claimed that the attack was likely coordinated using reconnaissance provided by an Orlan drone, which allegedly detected a formation of soldiers about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the front line.
Similar Russian strikes on Ukrainian troop gatherings have occurred in the past, including a deadly missile attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on November 3, 2023, that killed 19 soldiers and two civilians during an awards ceremony.
