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What happened in the Kostiantynivka market strike?
Summary
A missile hit an open market in Donetsk Oblast, killing at least 15 people, and the question of who fired it was contested.
What happened at the market in Kostiantynivka on 6 September 2023? In the morning, a missile struck an open market in the town's downtown, in Donetsk Oblast. At least 15 people were killed, and between 30 and 32 others were reported wounded. The dead included a child and a couple in their 50s who had been selling flowers at the market.
Kyiv blamed Russia for the attack. Russia denied involvement.
A dispute over the missile
An investigation by The New York Times later offered a different account. Based on video and audio footage from near the launch site and from the town, and on analysis of the explosion and its aftermath, it suggested that a Ukrainian 9M38 missile fired by a mobile Buk antiaircraft vehicle was responsible. The investigation placed the launch at Ukrainian positions west of Kostiantynivka.
A spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine said that the official investigation was continuing. The agency believed at that stage that Russian forces had launched an S-300 missile.
The strike was recorded among attacks on civilians during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The competing accounts of the weapon and its origin remained part of the public record of the event.
