The Russian missile strike during a training exercise in the Smie border area of Ukraine killed six military personnel and injured more than 10 others, the Ukrainian National Guard said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense previously released a video aimed at showing the Iskander missile attack at a training camp, with state communications agency Tas said up to 70 people had been killed.
The Smie region has been repeatedly bombarded, and Ukraine has started a month-long occupation of parts of Russia’s neighboring Kursk region from there.
The Ukrainian military said the purpose of the attack was to help create a buffer zone to protect Smie, but some people have resorted to the scale of military losses.
Separately, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had visited Kursk officials the day before, the first visit to the region since Ukrainian forces were kicked out of the region.
He met volunteers, played local governor Alexander Kinstein and toured the nearby nuclear power plant, state media reported.
Russia’s fatal strike against Ukrainian soldiers in Smie was confirmed early on Wednesday by the Ukrainian National Guard. The commander added that the official investigation has been suspended and an official investigation has begun.
An unverified video of the Russian military showed dozens of soldiers walking down paths near wooded areas, followed by explosions and huge smoke.
A BBC verification investigation showed that the training camp was targeting it to be far north of the Smie area, some south of the Russian border.
The attack was a major blow to the Ukrainian forces, saying that the National Guard had previously developed an “algorithm of action” and at the same time, it developed an order to address the airstrikes and the threat of people gathered in one place.
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Ukrainian general staff this week said it had blocked Russian bids to establish a “security zone” in the Smie region, claiming that its Kursk operation had “strategic significance” and forced Russia to divert “the most capable units” and tackle the attack.
The Kremlin has also sent thousands of North Korean soldiers into the region to regain the region.
However, last week, a battalion commander called Oleksandr Shyrshyn was cited as a critic of the “moronic task” set by military leaders and unfair losses.
Despite low-level discussions between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul last Friday, hopes for an imminent ceasefire have declined.
President Donald Trump has suggested that the Vatican might mediate further consultations, but the Vatican said it is more of a hope for now than a concrete plan to mediate the idea of hosting, or even mediate consultations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes Russia will present “a wide range of conditions that will allow us to move towards a ceasefire,” but Ukrainian Voldy Mir Zelensky said Russia is “trying to buy time to continue the war and occupation.”
