Nationalists and some Russian lawmakers have called for retribution for commanders they accused of ignoring the dangers, as anger grows over the deaths of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks of the conflict in Ukraine.
In a rare revelation, Russia’s Defense Ministry said 63 soldiers were killed on New Year’s Eve in an explosion that destroyed a temporary barracks at a vocational school in Makiivka, the twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk. in the East. .
Russian critics said the soldiers were billeted next to an ammunition depot at the site, which the Russian defense ministry said was hit by four rockets fired from US-made Himar launchers.
Ukraine and some Russian nationalist bloggers have put the death toll in the hundreds, though pro-Russian officials say those estimates are exaggerated.
Acts to honor the dead were held in several Russian cities, including Samara, where some were from, RIA Novosti news agency said. People laid flowers in the center of Samara.
“I have not slept for three days, Samara does not sleep. We are constantly in contact with the wives of our guys. It is very difficult and scary. But we cannot be shaken. Grief unites … We will not forgive and, surely, victory will be ours ”, Yekaterina Kolotovkina, a representative of a women’s council in an army unit, told RIA at one of the rallies.
The attack on Makiivka came as Russia launched what has become an overnight wave of drone strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his video night speech that the attacks were aimed at “exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defenses, our energy”.
Ukrainian officials said Russia attacked Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk region on Monday, hitting the village of Yakovlivka, the city of Kramatorsk and destroying an ice skating rink in the city of Druzhkivka.
The governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which together with neighboring Donetsk forms the Donbass industrial region claimed by Moscow, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had made steady progress towards Russian-held Svatove and Kreminna.
“(Russian forces) are used to having a complete advantage in both artillery and shells. We have now reached parity and our artillerymen are firing better, hitting more ammunition dumps and barracks, while firing far fewer shots,” said the Russian commander. Governor Serhiy Haidai on Ukrainian television.
An attack on December 31 in a Russian-controlled area in the southern Kherson region killed or wounded about 500 Russian soldiers, Ukraine’s military staff said.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield reports.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
