The Mayor of Konotop Semenikhin made a loud accusation after the hellish shelling of Sumy: 'Helped the Russians'.

The Mayor of Konotop Artem Semenikhin accused the head of the OVA Volodymyr Artyukh of organizing an event with the military at the Congress Center of Sumy University. It was at that Time that Russia launched a missile strike. According to Semenikhin, at the site of the Russian missile strike, the 117th territorial defense brigade was being honored, which celebrated the anniversary of its establishment on April 13.

'Mr. Artyukh is at his workplace. I wouldn't want to say, but I'll say who helped this. This blood that was spilled here. To help the Russians justify their genocide against Ukrainians - it takes skill. The head of the Sumy regional OVA, Soviet general Artyukh, facilitated this for them... He (Artyukh, - ed.) organized the awarding of certificates and medals to our guys, heroes from one of the brigades. The 117th brigade. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is writing - so it is not a secret. And it is not true that nothing happened here,' said the mayor.

Semenikhin also emphasized that the military were not harmed, as the meetings were held in a shelter. The victims of the attack were exclusively civilians. At the same time, the official noted that the Russians specifically fired a cluster shell to maximize the number of casualties. 'But the Russians fired a 'cluster'. Specifically, to have more victims. To justify their terrorist aggression. Supposedly, there were military personnel. Mr. Artyukh is a Soviet general who served under some Salamatin, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, during Yanukovych's time. He helped destroy the Ukrainian army, received awards from Yanukovych. He organized the award ceremony for the military of the 117th brigade today in Sumy. As far as I know, he was warned that this should not be done,' he said. The head of Konotop claims that law enforcement opened a criminal case not only concerning the Russian shelling but also to ascertain who organized the event in the city center with the participation of the military. He noted that the head of the SBU Maluk personally controls the situation. 'The main goal of the ka**ps was the children. This is the terror of the civilian population. And for them, it is a double pleasure when there is justification, supposedly they were hitting military targets. And thanks to Governor Artyukh, we have such casualties... This is the murder of civilians committed by the Russians practically with the assistance of Artyukh. I know that some military leaders will bear responsibility. But, of course, the number one responsibility lies with the Russians,' added Semenikhin.

Analysis:

The Mayor of Konotop Artem Semenikhin accused the head of the OVA Volodymyr Artyukh of holding an event with the military at the Congress Center of Sumy University. While performing his duties, Artyukh organized the honoring of the 117th brigade, which turned out to be vulnerable to the Russian missile strike. Semenikhin noted that Artyukh received a warning but ignored it. The mayor claims that the use of cluster munitions by Russia was primarily aimed at the civilian population, rather than the military. He calls for an investigation into this case and to hold the Russians accountable, as well as Artyukh, whom he accuses of terrorism and complicity in genocide. It is worth noting that as a result of the Russian missile strike in Sumy, 34 people, including two children, were killed, and another 117 were injured. The Armed Forces of Ukraine promise a tough response to Russia for this attack.