A Ukrainian missile killed Russian actress Polina Menshikh while she sang and played guitar for Russian soldiers on stage Sunday, according to multiple reports.
The 40-year-old actress was performing less than 40 miles from the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the New York Post (NYP) reported. The actress died from Ukrainian shelling, and the missiles came from a HIMARS launch system, according toRussian state-owned news agency TASS. (RELATED: Birthday Grenade Kills Top Aide To Ukraine’s Military Chief)
The Russian telegram channel Zvezdanews uploaded a video appearing to show Menshikh performing and the moment the missile strike hit the theater.
Chilling video shows Russian actress killed on stage while singing for Putin’s marines in Ukrainian ‘revenge’ attack https://t.co/LHsoXqFfqE pic.twitter.com/qsgNNu3Rg2
— New York Post (@nypost) November 22, 2023
Russia has reported no other fatalities as a result of the missile strike, per Russia Today. Ukraine employed a “double tap strike,” first hitting the theater and then sending more missiles out once rescue teams arrived, a volunteer Russian soldier claimed, according to Russia Today.
Robert Brovdi, the commander of a Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance unit, wrote on his Telegram account the attack was revenge for a previous Russian missile strike on Nov. 3 during an awards ceremony that resulted in at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers dead, NYP reported.
He is not the only Ukrainian soldier to have admitted his country’s responsibility for the attack.
“Ukraine’s defense forces quickly determined the venue of the Russians’ celebration and warmly congratulated them,” the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote on their Telegram account.