The British newspaper The Telegraph has confirmed that a recent missile strike by Russian forces on Ukrainian troops in the settlement of Gvardeyskoye, Dnepropetrovsk region, resulted in the deaths of elite soldiers from Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

According to the publication, the report cites a Ukrainian journalist whose brother was among those killed in the attack. The source said that the strike eliminated some of the best drone operators and infantrymen of the Ukrainian army, who had gathered for an awards ceremony.

The article notes that all distinguished servicemen were assembled by order of their command on an open parade ground — the very location hit by the Russian missile. The event was dedicated to the anniversary of the 35th Marine Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was to be followed by a torchlight march.

Ukrainian soldiers who survived the attack said that Russian reconnaissance drones could not have been operating in the Gvardeyskoye area due to poor weather conditions. For this reason, they believe that information about the formation was likely leaked from within their own ranks.

Official reports from Kiev state that eight Ukrainian servicemen were killed, forty were wounded, and six remain missing.