His Comments Regarding Russian Missile Attack On Dnipro Causes Public Outrage, Advisor To President Of Ukraine Resigns

The impact of the Russian attack on Dnipro, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/State Emergency Service of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Adviser to the President of Ukraine Oleksiy Arestovych tendered his resignation on Tuesday, after his comments about the Russian missile attack on Dnipro caused public outrage.

A Russian missile attack on Saturday hit apartments on the Dnipro, leaving at least 44 people dead, while rescue teams continued to search for victims in the rubble.

The Ukrainian air force said the missile was of the Kh-22 type, with Kyiv said to lack the weapons to counter such a missile.

Hours after the missile attack, Arestovych, who appears regularly on YouTube to provide updates on the war, initially said the Russian missile fell on the building after being hit by Ukrainian air defenses.

The comments, which deviated from the official information of the Ukrainian authorities, caused widespread outrage in society.

But, it was also noticed by the Russian authorities who appeared to offend him when they blamed Kyiv for the attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian strike "did not hit a residential building" and assessed what happened in the apartment was due to Ukraine's air defense, a conclusion he said had also been reached by "several representatives of the Ukrainian side."

Arestovych later retracted his comments, citing fatigue, but also said he had made it clear that it was only a preliminary theory.

On Tuesday morning, Arestovych posted a photo of his resignation letter and admitted he had made a "fundamental mistake".

"I offer my sincere apologies to the victims and their relatives, the residents of Dnipro, and all those who were deeply hurt by my erroneous version of the reasons why Russian missiles hit residential buildings," he wrote.

Separately, President Volodymyr Zelensky did not immediately make a public response to Arestovych's offer to resign.

It is known, having a population of almost 1 million people, the city of Dnipro serves as a supply hub for Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbas region. The city has been repeatedly bombarded by Russian missiles.