Zelensky's adviser Arestovych faces fierce criticism for his remarks about Dnipro blast

Political scientist Maxim Zharov believes that the recent scandal related to the statement from Aleksey Arestovych, adviser to the office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, about the missile strike at the apartment building in the city of Dnipro, speaks of the split in the Ukrainian elites.

On January 14, Arestovych said that part of the building in Dnipro collapsed due to the crash of a missile that was shot down by Ukrainian air defences.

Dnipro mayor calls Arestovych names

Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov later called Arestovich "narcissistic scumbag" and "garbage mouth" for his statement.

"I've said that from the very first day of the war that Arestovych was a narcissistic scumbag and garbage mouth," Filatov wrote on his Telegram channel.

Zharov commented on the situation in his Telegram channel as follows:

"The scandal with Arestovych not only testifies to the critical accumulation of fatigue in Ukrainian agitprop, but also clearly indicates that Zelensky's office is picking out objectionable oligarchs from managing their fiefs.”

On January 15, Mykola Oleshchuk, the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that there were no weapons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine that could be capable of shooting down this type of missiles. Since the beginning of the special military operation, Ukrainian air defences have not shot down any missile of this type, he added.

A big part of the apartment building Dnipro collapsed on January 14. The building was home to as many as 1,700 people. About 200 of them lived in the destroyed section. Dozens were killed.

On the night of January 14, Arestovych said that part of the building in Dnipro collapsed due to the blast of a rocket that was shot down by Ukrainian troops.

"It was shot down. It crashed at the entrance and exploded as it fell," Arestovych said.

After criticism, Arestovych commented on the situation in his Telegram channel. No air defence missile could come close to inflicting even half of the destruction, he wrote. "We should be concerned about bringing those responsible for the tragedy to justice," he said.