Fact-checking of a missile strike on the city of Kremenchuk: why was it a planned terrorist attack?

👉 The Guardian wrote about the results of our work

On June 27, the Russians launched a missile strike on a shopping center that housed about a thousand civilians at the time. The exact number of dead is unknown, but according to preliminary estimates, their number is approaching several dozen. Another 40 people are missing – according to photos provided by journalists (Explicit Content), the remains of people in the mall can not be identified even through a DNA test. The reason is the complete destruction of biological tissues of the body, including most bone formations, due to the fire caused by the explosion.

The moment of strike of the missile on the shopping center (backyard camera)

The main thing about the results of the investigation

Fake: an explosion of ammunition provoked a fire in the mall.

Truth: the time of explosion does not coincide, the point of strike is in 500 meters from the plant. The exact blow on Amstor shopping center confirms video provided by Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Fake: the mall did not work, there were no cars in the parking lot.

Truth: video shows the surviving cars after the explosion, so it is impossible to say that these cars were there before the explosion. Probably cars arrived already after the explosion for help.

Fake: there were no women in the mall, only men and the military.

Truth: the military who arrived at the scene of the fire, most likely a local territorial defense organization, who came to help eliminate the effects of the explosion. 

Fake: it is a provocation and staging special for the NATO summit.

Truth: the mall was attacked by Tu-22m3 aircraft, which were attacked with X-22 missiles. The found wreckage of an X-22 missile.

The investigation cites a fact that refutes the above allegations of Russian propaganda. We conducted an analysis and established the direction from which the rocket was launched at the mall.

Consequences of the rocket attack on the shopping center in Kremenchug

Fake: an explosion of ammunition provoked a fire in the mall

Faked statement at 11:11, 28.06.22, that attack was not at the mall, but at hangars with weapons from the United States and European countries near the Kremenchuk road machinery plant. An explosion of ammunition provoked a fire in a non-functioning mall near the plant.

Truth: The mall was affected separately, and before the plant:

The explosion at the plant was 500 meters from the mall, but could not provoke a fire. In addition, the rocket striked at the plant at 15:59, and at the mall earlier – at 15:51.

Comparison of explosion times at the plant (15:59) and in the mall (15:51)
Distance from the plant (second explosion) to Amstor mall (first explosion) – 0,5 km

Fake: the mall did not work, there were no cars in the parking lot

The media in russia claim that there were no cars in the car park because the mall was not working:

  • 17:02, 27.06.22 TG channel “Voenkor Kitten Z” with 300k subscribers wrote that this is a staging, and only men are in the frame. Then writes about the empty car park and the fact that the glass is undamaged;
  • 11:43, 28.06.22 “EurAsia Dail” wrote a narrative that at the time of the explosion the car park was empty and near the mall there were only men and many of them were in military uniform. This narrative is written in the comments in the telegram, and the video;
  • Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov publicly stated that the mall was not working, and the outbreak was due to the detonation of ammunition.

Truth: The mall worked

This is confirmed by the following evidence:

  • screen of correspondence, where the employee Amstor writes that they work without breaks for the air alarm from 23.06.22;
  • eyewitness accounts confirming that the mall was open;
  • the photo shows the clothes that were sold at the time of the explosion;
  • there is a photo a receipt from the Amstor mall on which the date of purchase of a children's toy is 27.06.22 
Photo of a message about a working shopping center, a receipt on the day of the missile attack (morning) and clothes from the shopping center as confirmation that Amstor was working normally at the time of the attack

Fake: there were no women in the mall, only men and the military

One of the propaganda narratives was the thesis that there were only military men on the territory of the Amstor shopping center, and there were no women at all. References to the statement are given in the last post.

Truth: the military who arrived at the scene of the explosion helped rescuers, women were evacuated away from the epicenter of the event in the first place

The military who arrived at the scene of the fire, most likely a local territorial defense organization, came to help eliminate the effects of the explosion. In a country where there is a war against the terrorist country of Russia, the presence of numerous military is an obvious thing.

Men who came to help the victims of the missile strike on the shopping center Amstor, and eyewitnesses

Fake: it is a provocation and staging special for the NATO summit

The Russian media write that this is a provocation and staging special for the NATO summit:

21:44, 27.06.22 “RIA Novosti” with reference to the post permanent representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky writes that the strike on the mall was "another provocation in the style of Bucha to keep the focus of attention before the NATO summit."

True: the missiles were launched from Russia by Russian aircraft

The mall was attacked by Tu-22m3 aircraft, which were attacked with X-22 missiles. The found wreckage of an X-22 missile.

The video shows a rocket flying at a gas station near the mall. According to the direction of the rocket and the established geolocation of the operator, we see that the rocket was flying from the direction of the Kursk region.

The moment of the missile's flight to the shopping center in Kremenchug and the identical position on Google Maps to determine the direction from which the Russian missile was fired
Establishing the direction from which the Russian missile was fired (Kursk region)
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