| February 2024 Lysychansk missile strike | |
|---|---|
| Part of theRusso-Ukrainian war (2022–present) | |
 Aftermath of the strike | |
| Location | 48°54′53″N38°24′36″E / 48.9147085°N 38.4099164°E /48.9147085; 38.4099164 Lysychansk,Ukraine |
| Date | 3 February 2024 |
Attack type | Airstrike |
| Deaths | 28+ (claimed by Russia) |
| Perpetrators |  Ukraine (claimed by Russia) |
On 3 February 2024, aUkrainian missile struck a cafe in theRussian occupied city ofLysychansk as part of theRusso-Ukrainian war (2022–present). Russian sources claimed 28 civilians, including three high-ranking collaborators, were killed in the cafe, while Ukraine has not yet commented on the attack.[1]
Lysychansk was the site of a pitched battle in June 2022 which, after over a week, saw the city captured by elements of theRussian Armed Forces and theLuhansk people's militia, and a collaborationist government was established and placed under the control of theLuhansk People's Republic (LPR), aseparatist puppet state that claims control over all of Ukraine'sLuhansk Oblast.
Russian state media had difficulty identifying the store which was targeted, first calling it a bakery, and then a restaurant, before the location was identified as the Adriatica café bymilblogers.[2]Eduard Sakhnenko, the Russian-installed mayor of Lysychansk reported that the attack was a missile strike and that there where at least 28 civilian casualties, three of which were local politicians including a member of the LPR's executive branch.[3]
The missile strike targeted the Adriatica café during the birthday celebrations ofIvan Zhushma, a local collaborator and a member of the legislature of the LPR. Russian state news agencyRIA Novosti stated that the attack killed several high-ranking LPR officials including:[1]
