The Babi Yar memorial was not damaged by the Russian missile strike, according to a Ynet reporterin Ukraine who visited the site on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Russian forces shelled an area in Kyiv next to Babi Yar - the site of a World War Two massacre of tens of thousands of Jews by German occupation troops and Ukrainian auxiliaries. The attack prompted outcry from many world leaders and organizations, including from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Ynet journalist Ron Ben Yishai reports Babi Yar unscathed after Russian attack
(Photo: Ron Ben Yishai)
Ynet's reproter in Kyiv, however, said after visiting the site the memorial was not harmed and no bomb, missile or artillery shell hit the site itself.
The damage was caused to nearby Kyiv's communications and television tower complex, some 300 meters (400 feet) away from the new memorial and a kilometer (3,000 feet) from the old one.
The massive new site that was built with funding from Ukrainian and Russian affluent Jews, includes a large bronze memorial and many smaller ones, all in memory of the dead, including Ukrainians who were murdered in the area's swamps by the Nazis and their helpers.
The Ukrainian government on Tuesday reported the site and the surrounding Jewish graves were damaged.
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Babi Yar Memorial remains undamaged after Russian missile strike
(Photo: Ron Ben Yishai )
Three missiles - launched from aircraft flying above the cloud cover - did land around the compound surrounding the communications tower, causing great damage to buildings belonging to its administrators.
But the massive tower itself remained unharmed, but for some minor impact from shrapnel and stains caused by black smoke.
Some Ukrainian television networks went off the air for a short while, most likely due to the shockwave hitting the antennas.
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Kyiv communications tower, still standing after Russian missile strike on Tuesday
(Photo: Ron Ben Yishai)
The Russians, it appears, tried to carry out an attack that would reverberate in the public and increase anxiety among residents of Kyiv, as well as Ukrainians elsewhere in the country, but not to destroy the tower that is built from strong steel constructions.
Andrei, one of the guards on duty in the facility, said two of his comrades were taken to hospital.
It seems the reporting that the Babi Yar memorial itself was hit was part of the Ukrainian misinformation campaigned, aimed at destabilizing the enemy.
Therefore, it appears the only reliable sources of information regarding the fighting are the American intelligence agencies and those of the U.K., which are not only able to receive reliable information on events on the ground but are also able to evaluate it correctly.