Moment Russian café is hit by missile, contradicting Russian reports
Shocking moment café in Russian border town is struck by missile, causing a huge fireball and wounding 16 – contradicting Russian claims they shot it down
- Russia previously claimed to have intercepted the rocket before it struck
Explosive video footage shows the moment an incoming missile hit a popular café in Taganrog, Russia.
The clip, filmed from a windscreen dashcam, shows the rocket tearing through the sky and striking the venue in the port city, near Ukraine’s border.
A spectacular explosion follows, with a large burst of energy shaking the camera as cars come to a sudden halt.
The missile appears intact in its final moment, contradicting previous Russian reports that a S-200 rocket had been intercepted and the debris fell on the coffeehouse.
Reports from within Russia claimed 16 had been injured in the attack.
There has been speculation the missile was a Storm Shadow, as supplied to Ukraine by Britain and France. MailOnline was unable to verify this claim.
Dashcam footage appears to catch the moment the missile hit the café in the Russian town
The missile appears to be intact, contrary to Russian claims they intercepted it
Russia’s defence ministry said earlier today in a statement: ‘Russian air defence equipment detected the Ukrainian missile and intercepted it in the air.
‘The debris of the downed Ukrainian missile fell on the territory of Taganrog.’
The ministry said the first S-200 missile was aimed at ‘residential infrastructure’ of Taganrog, a city of around 250,000 people.
Shortly after, it said it downed a second S-200 missile near the city of Azov, with debris falling in an unpopulated area.
The video from Taganrog does not appear to show a damaged missile hitting the café.
Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev initially said 15 had suffered ‘light injuries’ from ‘shards’ in an explosion near the Chekhov Garden café in the town’s centre.
He later reported that nine people had been taken to hospital, with one needing surgery.
Golubev claimed the ‘epicentre’ of the explosion was the Taganrog Art Museum, a few hundred metres from the café.
The museum is not pictured in the video footage.
One witness said: ‘We heard one clap, but strong, very strong. Glasses in nearby cafes flew out.’
Another said: ‘A huge crater, and everything around is destroyed, terrible. Everything is destroyed, a car is under the rubble.
‘In [Chekhov’s Garden] everything was damaged.’
There were no claims of responsibility from Ukraine.
Taganrog is located on the coast of the Sea of Azov and about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
It is about 110km (68 miles) from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, captured after a devastating siege near the start of the war.
The missile struck the café, causing a huge explosion and shaking the camera
Camera caught the extent of the huge explosion reported to have ‘lightly injured’ 16
Later reports of explosions in regional capital Rostov-on-Don were reported.
Russia appeared to respond to the attack on Taganrog with a hit on what was claimed to be an SBU secret services facility in Dnipro, where foreigner military advisers were allegedly based.
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