After dozens of Russian troops perished in one of the worst attacks of the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow politicians and nationalists sought the punishment of military commanders who allegedly ignored threats.
In an unprecedented statement, the Russian defense ministry revealed that 63 servicemen died on New Year's Eve in a catastrophic explosion that destroyed a makeshift barracks in a vocational school in Makiivka, the twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian defense ministry said that four missiles launched from US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launchers struck the position where the servicemen were sheltered, according to Reuters.
The death toll in Makiivka has been estimated in the hundreds by the Ukrainian government and Russian nationalist bloggers, while pro-Russian authorities insist the number is inflated.
RIA Novosti stated that memorial rallies were conducted in several Russian towns, including Samara, where the victims originated. Flowers were left by mourners in Samara's city center.
Large Number of Russian New Recruits Killed
Russia has been unleashing waves of drone assaults at night on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, and this is when the Makiivka HIMARS attack occurred.
In his daily video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated Russian drone strikes were meant to "exhaust" Ukraine's people, anti-aircraft defenses, and energy.
Reports indicate a large number of the troops who died in the battle in Ukraine looked to be fresh recruits who had been mobilized as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's effort to enlist additional soldiers, per a report from The New York Times.
Russian official media said that the incident was caused by the "active use of cellular phones" by the freshly arriving personnel," which helped Ukrainian forces find them.
According to senior policy analyst Dara Massicot of the RAND Corporation, the Russian authorities do not generally disclose this sort of material after a big setback, which shows they want to "control the narrative" on this incident.
HIMARS Gives Ukrainian Troops Significant Advantage
The city of Avdiivka, the closest Ukrainian-controlled area, is just about 10 miles away from Makiivka, a neighborhood of Donetsk. This puts Makiivka well within the HIMARS rockets' approximate 50-mile range.
In response to questions about the attack, a US military officer remained silent.
HIMARS is a growing collection of cutting-edge Western weaponry that is assisting Ukraine in altering the trajectory of the war. It projects satellite-guided missiles from mobile launchers.
HIMARS attack has substantially improved the Ukrainian forces' range and accuracy since the Biden administration started delivering the weapons system in June. The key bridge connecting the city of Kherson to Russian-held territory was one target well behind the front lines that were damaged, which led to the Russian decision to surrender the city.
Earlier this month, a hotel in Kadiivka, in the Luhansk area northeast of Donetsk, was damaged in an Ukranian HIMARS attack. According to Kyiv authorities, the strike killed members of the paramilitary Wagner organization, which was affiliated with the Kremlin and was using the hotel as a headquarters.
Over 84 Russian drones have been shot down by Ukraine in the last two days, guaranteeing that no strikes have ever targeted vital infrastructure, according to a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military's air force headquarters, according to Express.
According to Yuriy Ignat, a total of 484 Russian drones have been shot down since September.
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