Russia on Monday said dozens of its soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike on Russian-controlled territory in a bloody New Year’s weekend for both sides of the conflict.
In an extremely rare announcement following criticism by Russian military correspondents, the defence ministry said that 63 Russian servicemen were killed “as a result of a strike by four missiles” in the occupied city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine.
It was the biggest loss of life reported by Moscow so far in a conflict that has dragged on since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade on February 24 last year.
The Russian defence ministry did not say when the strike took place but Ukrainian forces are believed to have struck as Russian troops rang in the New Year.
The ministry said US-supplied Himars rocket systems had been used and the target was a temporary deployment point.
Without claiming the strike, Ukraine’s military said that nearly 400 Russian troops were killed.
Russian war correspondents, who have gained influence in recent months, said hundreds could have been killed and accused Russia’s top commanders of not learning from past mistakes.
Former Russian separatist leader Igor Strelkov said the troops largely consisting of mobilised Russians were stationed in an unprotected building that was “almost completely” destroyed because ammunition stored on the premises detonated in the strike. He said “hundreds” have been killed and wounded.
“Ten months into the war it is dangerous and criminal to consider the enemy a fool who does not see anything,” said Andrei Medvedev, deputy speaker of the Moscow city legislature.
The Samara governor, Dmitry Azarov, said that among the victims were residents of his region, adding that a hotline was set up for their relatives.
On social media, some accused the Russian authorities of downplaying the death toll.
“Dear God, who will believe in the figure of 63? The building has been completely destroyed,” one Russian, Nina Vernykh, wrote on Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte.
– ‘War to kill’ –
Russian strikes across Ukraine on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day killed at least five people and wounded dozens.
The Ukrainian capital again came under fire from Iranian-made drones on Monday, although Ukrainian forces claimed the majority were shot down by air defences.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an explosion in northeastern Kyiv and said emergency services were dispatched.
“An injured 19-year-old man was hospitalised in the Desnyanskyi district of the capital,” he said.
Authorities later said he was hit by the falling debris.
Following the strikes, the power company Ukrenergo said the situation with the electricity supply in Kyiv was now “more complicated”.
“That is why emergency shutdowns are now in effect,” it said.
General Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said that the army had so far liberated “40 percent of the territories occupied after February 24.”
Russia’s New Year assaults — which targeted downtown areas of large cities — show a change in tactics, said an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Russia no longer has any military goals and is trying to kill as many civilians as possible and destroy more civilian facilities,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.
“A war to kill.”
– ‘Extreme hardship’ –
After suffering a series of humiliating battlefield defeats, Moscow started to target electrical and other critical infrastructure in October.
The strikes have caused sweeping blackouts and cut off water supplies and heating to civilians as the temperature in some regions dropped below freezing.
The UN’s human rights chief has warned the campaign has inflicted “extreme hardship” on Ukrainians, and also decried probable war crimes by Russian forces.
Putin declared during his midnight address on New Year’s Eve that “moral, historical rightness is on our side”.
Moscow said its New Year’s attacks had targeted the pro-Western country’s drone production.
“The plans of the Kyiv regime to carry out terror attacks against Russia in the near future have been thwarted,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting its domestic military sites and infrastructure.
In December, Moscow said it had shot down drones three separate times over or near Engels airfield, an airbase in southern Russia more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) from Ukraine. Falling debris killed three people in one of those attacks.
On Monday, Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone had struck an energy facility in the southwestern Bryansk region neighbouring Ukraine.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said that the strike had cut off electricity to a village.
