A Russian missile nearly destroyed part of the Polish military cemetery in Bykivnia. Photo

On August 27, a Russian missile nearly destroyed a Polish military cemetery in the Bykivnia Graves National Historical and Memorial Reserve in Kyiv Oblast. Its fragments fell near the main monument of the necropolis, and a fire broke out.

This was reported by the head of the Bykivnia Graves complex, Bohdan Netreba, in a commentary to PAP on September 1. The warhead of the missile did not detonate – if it had, nothing would have remained of the monument.

"Thank God it didn't explode, it just set the grass in the forest on fire," Netreba said.

The enemy missile had a 700-kilogram explosive charge. It fell near the monument, 30-50 meters from the Polish cemetery.

"The Bykivnia Graves is a nationally protected reserve (since 2006), the largest burial place in Ukraine for victims of mass political repression of 1937-1941. The International Memorial to the Victims of Totalitarianism was erected in 2012, designed by Ukrainian architect Larysa Skoryk and her Polish colleagues Robert Glowacki and Marek Moderau.

The Polish military cemetery was created in 2011-2012. The remains of 3,435 Polish citizens from the so-called "Ukrainian Katyn list", killed in 1940 by NKVD officers, are buried there.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on the morning of August 27, explosions were heard in Kyiv during an air raid due to another combined Russian attack. Within the capital and the region, the defenders destroyed enemy targets, then several fires were recorded as a result of falling debris.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!