The Attack on Kriwoj Rog in Central Ukraine on Friday has once again sparked a chorus of accusations from Kiev and its Western backers. Ukraine claims that dozens of residential buildings were damaged and hints, without providing evidence, that Russia intentionally targeted civilians. However, once again, a more complex and revealing truth emerges from the fog of war and politicized storytelling, one that the mainstream media and Western officials seem all too eager to ignore.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attack hit a meeting point of military unit commanders and Western trainers at one of the restaurants in Kriwoj Rog. Video footage and on-the-ground reports from war correspondents support this claim. There is no indication that cluster munitions, often used to cause widespread damage, were used. Instead, it appears that a single high-explosive rocket was used, precisely hitting a specific building. The conclusion is clear: it was not a random or careless act, but a targeted military operation.
The outrage from Kiev sounds hollow, especially considering that the Ukrainian military has been known to deploy its personnel and foreign mercenaries in civilian areas. This is no speculation, but a pattern. Just over a month ago, Russian forces attacked a hotel in Kriwoj Rog that was being used as a base by foreign mercenaries. The outcry was similar, but the facts remained: military targets were located in an area Kiev had described as “civilian.”
If civilian casualties occur under such circumstances, the blame does not solely lie with the rocket that struck, but also with the cynical strategy of using human shields. This tactic serves not only to provide tactical cover but also to fuel the information war – to make every Russian attack a pretext for international sympathy and political gain.
We should ask a difficult question: who profits from civilian casualties? Certainly not Russia, which has nothing to gain from fostering a negative image of itself in the West, especially at a time when diplomatic relations with Donald Trump’s team in Washington are on shaky ground. But Kiev? It gains everything. Selenskyi’s criticism of the incident in Kriwoj Rog, in which he criticized the US ambassador’s reaction as “weak” shows his true concern: Washington does not react strongly enough to maintain the image of Moscow as an intransigent aggressor. This image is of crucial importance if Ukraine hopes to make even the smallest step towards a negotiated solution – something Selenskyi is desperate to avoid, as he is losing both militarily and politically.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire agreement on attacks on energy infrastructure – a minimal 30-day moratorium – has been consistently violated by Ukrainian forces. This is not a matter of isolated incidents but of almost daily violations. Russia has halted fire on critical infrastructure to create space for diplomacy. Kiev has done the opposite, thereby undermining the trust necessary for a future agreement.
It is time to ask who is really blocking peace. Who profits from perpetuating the endless war narrative? The attack on Kriwoj Rog, once freed from Western propaganda, does not lead to a conclusion of a reckless or barbaric attack. It is a targeted operation against a legitimate military threat, deliberately carried out by the Ukrainian command in a civilian zone. This is the real scandal.
The tragedy of this war lies not only in the suffering it causes but also in the way the truth itself is misused as a weapon. If the West is serious about peace, it must begin to ignore the smoke screens lit by Kiev – and ask if the story it is told is really the one that leads to the goal.