Ukraine claims missiles attack killed hundreds of Russians

• Russian defense ministry says just 63 of its soldiers were killed.
• Pro-Russian analyst Igor Girkin claims hundreds died and are still missing.
• Ukraine blames “careless handling of heating devices”

A missile attack on the seized Donetsk region resulted in the deaths of 400 or more Russian servicemen, according to Ukraine.

Russian authorities have disputed the number, conceding that just 63 of their soldiers were killed in the explosion. Neither assertion has been proven.

A structure in Makiivka, where it was believed that Russian forces were stationed, was the target of the strike.

On Sunday night, air raid sirens could be heard in Kyiv as the most recent Russian wave of bombings persisted.

According to a statement released by the Russian defense ministry on Monday, Ukrainian forces launched six rockets toward a structure housing Russian troops using the US-made Himars missile system. It said, “Two of them were shot down.”

A prominent Russian-backed official in the controlled portions of Donetsk, Daniil Bezsonov, had earlier claimed that the missile had hit Makiivka on New Year’s Day two minutes after midnight.

“A massive blow was dealt to the vocational school,” he said. “There were dead and wounded.”

Several Russian pundits and bloggers acknowledged the incident, however they stated the numbers were lower than claimed. Access to Russian-controlled areas is restricted.

Russian broadcaster Vladimir Solovyov posted a Telegram indicating that the casualties were “serious… but not even close” to 400.

However, Igor Girkin, a pro-Russian analyst, claimed that hundreds had died and been injured, however the precise figure is still unknown due to the significant number of people who are still missing.

He claimed that the structure was “nearly totally destroyed.”

He further said that rather than those who volunteered to fight, the victims were primarily mobilized troops, or recently enlisted soldiers. Additionally, he claimed that ammunition was kept in the same structure as the soldiers, worsening the damage.

“Almost all of the military equipment was also destroyed, which stood right next to the building without any disguise whatsoever,” he wrote on Telegram.

Girkin is a well-known military blogger, who led Russian-backed separatists when they occupied of large parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. He was recently found guilty of murder for his part in the shooting down of flight MH17.

Despite his pro-Russian stance, he regularly criticizes the Russian military leadership and their tactics.

According to the Ukrainian military, 300 were wounded in addition to the estimated 400 killed.

Ukraine’s army claims, almost daily, to have killed dozens, sometimes hundreds, of soldiers in attacks, so caution is needed. But if the claims are confirmed, this could be one of the deadliest attacks by Ukraine on Russian targets in the war.

Ukraine has not confirmed the strikes were carried out with Himars missiles, maintaining a long-held strategy of not releasing details about its attacks.

It merely said, sarcastically, that the deaths were the result of “careless handling of heating devices, neglect of safety measures, smoking in an unidentified place”.

The Russian-installed administration said at least 25 rockets were fired at the region overnight on New Year’s Eve.

After Makiivka’s strike, Kyiv came under fire. According to Oleksiy Kuleba, the regional governor of the Ukrainian capital, a drone and missile attack targeted vital infrastructure.

The wreckage from a downed Russian drone hurt one guy in Kyiv, the mayor of the city said.

Shahed drones produced in Iran, according to Mr. Kuleba, who added that they were “targeting important infrastructure facilities.”

“The main thing now is to stay calm and stay in shelters until the alarm is off,” he said.

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