On February 27 and 28, 2022, Smerch missiles with cluster warheads struck residential areas of Kharkiv. These missiles deploy over a large area, scattering dozens of submunitions. Civilians were killed and wounded in the city, and homes, cars, and streets far from obvious military targets were damaged.

Investigators did not stop at identifying the weapon type. Using videos, photographs, satellite imagery, and the trajectories of recovered missile fragments, they reconstructed the unit and chain of command. The evidence led to the 79th Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Western Military District, commanded by Colonel General Aleksandr Zhuravlyov.

How the Launchers Were Found

CNN, in collaboration with the Centre for Information Resilience, analyzed eleven strikes. Geolocation of impact sites, fragment positions, and reverse trajectory calculations pointed to a launch area in Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Satellite imagery showed the deployment of multiple rocket launcher systems and launch traces at the calculated times.

The 79th Brigade was subordinate to the command of the Western Military District. Experts interviewed by journalists noted that the use of such powerful weapons against a major city requires a high-level decision. Based on the chain of command, the investigation attributed responsibility to Zhuravlyov. There is no direct published order with his signature in the public domain – the conclusion is built on a combination of technical data and the command chain.

Area-Effect Weapons

Human Rights Watch confirmed the use of 9M55K cluster munitions in at least three residential areas of Kharkiv on February 28. One missile carries 72 submunitions. Some of these may not detonate immediately, becoming a long-term threat to residents and sappers.

Amnesty International later documented repeated indiscriminate strikes on the city, including with cluster munitions. International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks; the use of area-effect weapons in a densely populated area creates an obvious risk of such a violation, regardless of whether a state is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The Aleppo Experience

In 2016, Zhuravlyov commanded the Russian contingent in Syria during the Battle of Aleppo. Human rights organizations documented intense strikes on civilian infrastructure and the use of cluster munitions by Russian and Syrian forces there. Moscow denied striking civilian targets.

After Syria, Zhuravlyov was awarded the title Hero of Russia and subsequently headed the Western Military District. This promotion indicates that methods that drew international criticism did not hinder his career. On the contrary, his Syrian experience became a recommendation for commanding one of the main axes of the invasion of Ukraine.

Why the Chain of Command Matters

A launcher has a crew, a brigade has a commander, and a district has a commanding officer. Focusing solely on the service members who pressed the button obscures those who selected the weapon, determined the target area, and authorized the strike. OSINT does not replace criminal investigations but can preserve the technical chain of events and narrow the circle of those responsible.

The Kharkiv investigation did precisely this: it linked the debris on the streets to a specific missile type, the launch area to a specific brigade, and the brigade to Zhuravlyov's command. Between Aleppo and Kharkiv, there was not a random repetition, but rather personnel and command continuity.