The external adviser to the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, Alexei Arestovich, submitted his resignation on Tuesday after stating that the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense shot down the Russian missile over the city of Dnepropetrovsk that later hit a block of flats last Saturday.
Arestovich explained his resignation in his networks, noting that it is “an example of civilized behavior” after committing “a fundamental mistake.” Hours later, the Ukrainian presidential spokesman, Sergei Nikiforov, confirmed to the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper that his resignation request had been accepted.
The former senior official’s words about the downing of the Russian missile in an interview with the Feiguin Live channel on Sunday generated widespread criticism within Ukrainian society.
The country’s Air Force denied Arestovich’s claims, arguing that the Russian X-22 missile was not shot down, but rather that it was fired directly at the building. In addition, they assured that of the more than 210 missiles of this type launched by Russia, “none” were intercepted, since they do not have the necessary means to do so.
In view of this, the then adviser asserted that a friend of his, an experienced military man, had provided him with information about the deadly event. “My comrade, a former air defense officer, was walking down the street at the time of the attack. He told me that he heard two explosions 100% and identified the first as the work of the anti-aircraft defense. Until now, he had never been wrong. And he was sure that the missile had been shot down, “he wrote on his networks.
Already on Monday, Arestovich retracted his words, stating that he had made “a serious mistake.” He also accused the Ukrainian opposition of carrying out, together with Russia, “an information operation” against him. On Tuesday, he offered his “sincere apologies” to everyone who had been “deeply hurt” by the “prematurely erroneous version” of him.
Conflicting versions of the Ukrainian military
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense continues to insist that its anti-aircraft forces do not have the capabilities to intercept X-22 air-launched missiles, despite the fact that last year they issued several statements to the contrary.
Already on Sunday, the spokesman for the country’s Air Force, Yuri Ignat, confirmed these statements about the downing of X-22 missiles in the past, but specified that they were “mistakes” made due to haste in the publications.
“The information presented in official resources is generally reliable, but there are several unreliable posts about downed X-22s and S-300s, it’s a fact,” he said.
On Tuesday, Ignat reiterated the position of the Ukrainian Defense, repeating that kyiv does not have the capacity to shoot down X-22 missiles. “Modern Western systems like Patriot and SAMP-T can destroy X-22,” he remarked, quoted by the Strana.ua portal.
According to the latest data from the Emergency Service of Ukraine, 44 people, including five children, were killed, while 79, including 16 minors, were injured by a missile explosion in Dnepropetrovsk, which destroyed a section of the building. Likewise, 39 people were rescued alive, including 6 children.
From the Kremlin they emphasized that the Russian military does not attack residential buildings and that its offensives are directed against camouflaged or obvious military objectives. They also blamed the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense for causing the tragedy. with RT