Vladimir Artyukh has been dismissed following accusations he organized a military awards ceremony targeted in a missile attack

Vladimir Zelensky's office announced on Tuesday that it has fired the head of Ukraine's Sumy Regional Military Administration, Vladimir Artyukh. The move follows accusations that Artyukh organized a military awards ceremony that was targeted in a Russian missile strike.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it carried out a precision strike the previous day on a gathering of Ukrainian command staff in the border city of Sumy. Two Iskander-M missiles were used in the attack on Sunday, it said, adding that over 60 senior Ukrainian servicemen were killed in the strike.

The local Ukrainian authorities have claimed that the attack targeted a military awards ceremony for the 117th Territorial Defense Brigade. Officials reported that the strike resulted in 35 civilian deaths and 129 others injured. 

Several Ukrainian officials, including the mayor of Konotop, Artyom Semenikhin, have since called for the prosecution of Artyukh, accusing him of being directly responsible for the casualties by "organizing an awards ceremony" despite warnings not to do so.

Artyukh has effectively confirmed that the ceremony took place on the day of the attack but denied responsibility for the event, telling public broadcaster Suspilne that he "was invited" but did not organize it. 

Nevertheless, Zelensky signed a decree on Tuesday removing Artyukh from his post. Taras Melnychuk, the cabinet's representative in parliament, confirmed the move in a post on Telegram on Tuesday and announced that the government has decided on a replacement.

Moscow has stressed that it does not attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian military only strikes "military-related targets." Russian officials have accused Kiev, however, of deliberately hosting military events in civilian areas. 

Following the Sumy attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the facility targeted in Sunday's strike was hosting both Ukrainian and NATO officers, and claimed they were posing as mercenaries. 

Lavrov went on to say that Kiev routinely flouts international law by placing military facilities and weapons in or near civilian infrastructure, and that there have been "a million" examples of this. 

Sumy is a regional capital and frontline city of over 250,000 people, located 25km from the border with Russia. It has become a focal point of Ukraine's retreat from Russia's Kursk Region following its failed incursion.