Ukraine court detains weapons show organiser after Russian strike kills 11 near Kyiv

A Ukrainian court on Monday remanded Vasyl Goncharuk in custody without bail after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit a weapons exhibition outside Kyiv and killed at least 11 people.

Prosecutors brought a case against Goncharuk, head of a weapons industry association, accusing him of negligence that led to loss of life after the strike on a shooting range on Friday. An AFP journalist at the hearing reported that the Kyiv court ordered him held pending trial.

Russia’s defence ministry confirmed hours after the strike that it had hit the site, which it said was hosting a demonstration of Ukrainian and foreign-made drones.

Ukrainian Prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko said investigators were checking whether circumstances may have worsened the scale of the tragedy. He said the weapons association had invited more than 300 people, including military personnel, state representatives and business figures, without official authorisation and had provided only a small shelter.

Kravchenko said investigators were also examining whether social media promotion of the event could have enabled Russia to prepare a targeted strike. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the event “certainly should not have been taking place there.”

The death toll rose from 10 to 11 on Monday after a Ukrainian diplomat working for Malta died of his wounds.