RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian military issues update on deadly Ukrainian strike
Nearly 90 troops were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike that hit a temporary housing area used by the Russian forces in the city of Makeyevka in Donetsk People’s Republic just after midnight on January 1, the Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The death toll has grown to 89 people, including the unit’s deputy commander, the ministry said, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a vocational school where the troops were stationed on New Year’s night.
The facility was targeted by six missiles from a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, four of which penetrated air defenses, and hit the building at precisely 0:01am on January 1, the Defense ministry said, claiming that the launcher was later destroyed in a retaliatory strike.
While the fact-finding mission is still investigating the tragic incident, it is “already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the turning on and mass use mobile phones by personnel – contrary to the ban – within the range of enemy weapons” which has allowed Ukrainian forces to trace their coordinates, Lieutenant General Sergey Sevryukov from the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces told reporters.
Moscow reiterated its pledge to provide all necessary assistance and support to the families of the fallen troops. Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.
** Russian forces eliminate over 130 foreign mercenaries in Ukraine operation
The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a strike on the deployment site of the Ukrainian army’s foreign legion in the Donetsk People’s Republic, eliminating over 130 mercenaries in the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.
"Precision strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces against the temporary deployment sites of foreign legion units in areas near the settlement of Maslyakovka and the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic eliminated over 130 foreign mercenaries," the spokesman said.
Kharkov Region
Russian troops eliminated two Ukrainian subversive groups in the Kharkov Region over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In areas near the settlements of Novosyolovskiye and Tabayevka in the Kharkov Region, two Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups were eliminated," the spokesman said.
Russian forces also struck Ukrainian troops near the communities of Sinkovka, Ivanovka and Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region, destroying over 40 militants, three combat armored vehicles and three pickup trucks, the general specified.
Donetsk
Russian forces eliminated roughly 90 Ukrainian militants in their offensive in the Donetsk area over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In the Donetsk area, Russian forces continued their offensive operations. As many as 90 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, five combat armored vehicles and seven motor vehicles were eliminated as a result of damage inflicted on the enemy by combined firepower in areas near the settlements of Krasnoye, Petrovskoye, Nevelskoye, Georgiyevka and Pobeda in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Southern Donetsk area
Russian forces eliminated over 30 Ukrainian militants in the southern Donetsk area over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In the southern Donetsk area, artillery strikes on Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Prechistovka, Zolotaya Niva and Novodonetskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic eliminated over 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two combat armored vehicles and three pickup trucks," the spokesman said.
M777 howitzers
Russian forces destroyed three US-made M777 howitzers at firing positions over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In the areas of the city of Artyomovsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the settlement of Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic, three US-made M777 artillery systems were destroyed at firing positions," the spokesman said.
HIMARS
Russian forces destroyed four US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, 800 rounds of ammunition and 120 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"Missile and air strikes against the amassed military hardware in the area of the Druzhkovka railway station in the Donetsk People’s Republic destroyed two HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems of US manufacture, four Czech-made RM-70 Vampire rocket systems, over 800 shells for multiple launch rocket systems, six motor vehicles and also as many as 120 Ukrainian military personnel," the spokesman said.
In the counter-battery warfare, Russian forces uncovered positions and obliterated two HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems that had been shelling populated areas in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general specified.
Russian air defense forces shot down 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and intercepted nine HIMARS rockets over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities shot down 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Svistunovka and Chervonopopovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Kirillovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Trudovoye and Berdyansk in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
Russian air defense systems also intercepted nine HIMARS rockets in areas near the communities of Chervonopopovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson Region, the general added.
Russian forces have destroyed over 2,800 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the spokesman said.
"In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation: 355 warplanes, 199 helicopters, 2,807 unmanned aerial vehicles, 399 surface-to-air missile systems, 7,382 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 967 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,768 field artillery guns and mortars and 7,900 special military motor vehicles," Konashenkov reported.
LPR
Russian forces eliminated a Ukrainian subversive group in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine.
"In the area of the settlement of Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, a Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance group was eliminated," the spokesman said.
Krasny Liman
The Ukrainian military suffered over 120 casualties in the Krasny Liman area in the past day.
"In the Krasny Liman area, Russian artillery and heavy flamethrowers delivered strikes on four Ukrainian assault groups in areas near the settlements of Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Novosadovoye, Serebryanka and Grigorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman told a briefing on the special military operation in Ukraine.
In the past 24 hours, the enemy lost over 120 military personnel killed and wounded, four combat armored vehicles, three pickup trucks and two motor vehicles in that area, the general specified.
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russia blames its soldiers' mobile phone use for deadly missile strike
Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday blamed the illegal use of mobile phones by its soldiers for a deadly Ukrainian missile strike that it said killed 89 servicemen, raising the reported death toll significantly.
Moscow previously said 63 Russian soldiers were killed in the weekend strike. The ministry's reaction came amid mounting anger among some Russian commentators, who are increasingly vocal about what they see as a half-hearted campaign in Ukraine.
Most of the anger on social media was directed at military commanders rather than Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not commented publicly on the attack which was another blow after major battlefield retreats in recent months.
The Russian defence ministry said four Ukrainian missiles hit a temporary Russian barracks in a vocational college in Makiivka, twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Although an official probe has been launched, the main reason for the attack was clearly the illegal mass use of mobile phones by servicemen, the ministry said.
"This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers' location for a missile strike," it said in a statement issued just after 1 a.m. in Moscow on Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who rarely comments on specific Ukrainian military strikes, made no mention of the attack in a video address on Tuesday in which he said Russia was set to launch a major offensive to improve its fortunes.
"We have no doubt that current masters of Russia will throw everything they have left and everyone they can round up to try to turn the tide of the war and at least delay their defeat," Zelenskiy said in a video address.
"We have to disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for this. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail," he continued.
Ukraine's military has said it launched a strike that resulted in Russian loss of equipment and possibly personnel near Makiivka. But it has given no further details.
Russian nationalist bloggers and some pro-Russian officials in the region put the Makiivka death toll in the hundreds, though some say that those estimates are exaggerated.
BAKHMUT FIGHTING
General Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said the situation on the front line near the eastern town of Bakhmut was particularly tough.
Russian forces have repeatedly tried to take Bakhmut and the surrounding area, in some cases literally advancing over the corpses of their own soldiers, Zaluzhny wrote on the Telegram messaging app, saying Ukrainian forces were hanging on.
A little known patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers is calling on Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy reiterated Ukrainian assertions that Moscow is planning a full-scale mobilisation, a step that Russian officials say is not currently being considered.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington had seen reports "that the Ukrainian military struck a Russian military barracks that stored ammunition inside of Ukrainian territory" and led to many Russian deaths. "We have also read reports that many of these soldiers were new recruits."
Putin plans to talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax, the latest in a series of conversations the two men have had since the start of the war.
Turkey acted as mediator alongside the United Nations last year to establish a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports but the chances of serious peace talks look remote, especially as fighting continues to rage.
Ukraine's General Zaluzhny, summarising a Tuesday call with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, thanked the American for helping ensure the provision of anti-missile weapons systems that Kyiv says is knocking out more and more of the Russian missiles aimed at power-generating plants.
Zaluzhny said he had discussed what equipment Ukraine needed to increase its chances against Russia, a message that senior officials have hammered on a daily basis.
"Right now is the moment when, together with our partners, we should strengthen our defence," said Zelenskiy.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Zelenskiy that he can count on Britain for support over the long run "as demonstrated by the recent delivery of more than 1,000 anti-air missiles", Sunak's office said on Tuesday.
Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, what he calls a "special military operation", on Feb. 24, 2022 to deter threats to Russian security and to protect Russian speakers. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked imperialist-style grab for territory.
RT/TASS/Reuters
