Attacks on civilian infrastructure: Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Kotovsk and Elektrostal

On the night of July 18, civilian infrastructure facilities in two regions of Russia were attacked by drones. There are dead and wounded. The UK has already opened a criminal case on terrorist attacks. The Moscow Region Prosecutor's Office took personal control of the observance of the rights of victims of the UAV attack in the Moscow region. The details of the incident are in the Izvestia article.

The attack on the Tambov and Moscow regions

On July 18, logistics complexes were attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles in the Tambov and Moscow regions. In Kotovsk, located in the Tambov region, as a result of drones hitting the distribution center building, according to Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov, seven night service employees were killed and 25 injured.

Photo: t.me/PervyshovEA

The governor clarified that the UAVs were equipped with striking elements. The victims received shrapnel wounds: one person is in extremely serious condition, six are in serious condition, 16 are in moderate condition, 23 people are hospitalized. He also added that among the victims are not only residents of the Tambov region.

As a result of the drones hitting the warehouse, a fire started. According to the head of the region, ambulances, fire brigades, Emergency Situations Ministry forces, and law enforcement officers quickly arrived at the scene. Later, open gorenje in a warehouse in Kotovsk was eliminated.

"This is the largest and most inhumane terrorist attack on our region, both in terms of the number of UAVs that arrived, the number of victims, and cynicism," Pervyshov wrote on his channel in Maks.

Later it became known that seven victims of the attack are in intensive care in serious condition.

In the Elektrostal of the Moscow region, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyov, 24 people were injured when a UAV crashed on the territory of another warehouse, some of them are in serious condition. A total of 26 people were injured in the Moscow region. Fire brigades and emergency services continue to work at the damaged facility, and evacuation has been carried out.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

It also became known that the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, sent an appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in connection with a new wave of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian regions. She is in contact with the human rights commissioners in the Moscow and Tambov regions in connection with the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on these regions.

Senator from the Tambov region Alexey Kondratiev, in an interview with TASS, also noted that the issue of an international investigation into those responsible for the strike on the warehouse in Kotovsk should be brought to the UN site.

"We need to talk about an international investigation here. And this issue should be brought to the UN site for appropriate assessment and subsequent procedural actions against the people who gave this command to strike, who participated in it," he said.

The criminal case

The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened criminal cases on the facts of attacks by armed formations of Ukraine on logistics centers in Kotovsk and Elektrostal. The cases are classified under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("terrorist act").

The Investigative Committee added that as a result of strikes on civilian infrastructure, civilians were killed and injured, their number is being clarified.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Zurab Javakhadze

Investigators and criminologists are working at the scene of the incidents. After the discovery of the drone fragments, forensic examinations will be scheduled. The ministry noted that the actions of the Ukrainian military will be given a criminal legal assessment.

It is also known that the prosecutor of the Moscow region, Sergei Zabaturin, instructed city prosecutors to take personal control of the observance of the rights of citizens affected by a night attack by UAVs in the Moscow region.

According to the Prosecutor's office of the Moscow region, several urban districts of the Moscow region were attacked by aircraft-type UAVs at night.

"On the instructions of the prosecutor of the Moscow Region, Sergei Zabaturin, city prosecutors are personally monitoring the situation, ensuring cooperation with various departments in order to provide comprehensive assistance to affected citizens," the department's official channel in Maks says.

The supervisory authority added that a hotline is operating at the regional prosecutor's office to promptly receive complaints and provide legal assistance.