Another False Flag? Top Zelensky Adviser Resigns After Dnipro Missile Claim
Another False Flag? Top Zelensky Adviser Resigns After Dnipro Missile Claim
Ukraine earlier had to walk back its claim that a Russian missile landed in Poland
A top Ukrainian official resigned Wednesday after facing fierce backlash after he said it was unlikely that Russia intentionally targeted a residential building in Dnipro that partially collapsed, killing at least 44.
Oleksiy Arestovych, the adviser, said it appeared that a Russian missile was intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses and debris hit the building. His theory contradicted Western media reports that blamed Russia for increasing its brutality against the civilians of Ukraine.
FOLLOW GERALD CELENTE ON YOUTUBE
Arestovych took to YouTube and told his viewers that he made a serious mistake. The Hill noted that he appeared to post his resignation on his Telegram channel with text that read, “Wrote a letter of resignation. I want to show an example of civilized behavior: a fundamental mistake, then resign.”
"I offer my sincere apologies to the victims and their relatives, the residents of Dnipro and everyone who was deeply hurt by my prematurely erroneous version of the reason for the Russian missile striking a residential building," he wrote.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quick to pick up on his initial remark and said, “The Russian armed forces have not been delivering strikes on residential buildings … You could see statements by some [Ukrainian] officials about that tragedy having been caused by an air defense counterattack,” AntiWar.com reported.
Ukraine insisted that Arestovych is incorrect, and stated that the building was hit by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which it does not have the capacity to intercept.
This is not the first instance that Kyiv blamed Russia for a missile strike that raised questions as more information was revealed.
Subscribers of The Trends Journal know that Ukrainian officials have been trying to get NATO forces to join the fight against Russia because it has a significantly more lethal military and Kyiv will, ultimately, not be able to defeat Russian forces.
Ukraine blamed Russia for a missile strike in Poland, a NATO member, in November that raised the prospect of the alliance joining the fight.
Zelensky called the missile strike a major escalation.
“Hitting NATO territory with missiles. This is a Russian missile attack on collective security. This is a really significant escalation. Action is needed,” he said.
But, like Ukraine’s effort to join NATO, the West said: Not so fast.
President Joe Biden said in a tweet later that it was unlikely that the missiles were fired by Russia based on their trajectories.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said, “We have no evidence at the moment that it was a rocket launched by Russian forces. However, there are many indications that it was a missile that was used by Ukraine’s antimissile defense.”