The Ukrainian authorities, who claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday evening, spoke of a much larger toll.
Russia on Monday (January 1st) acknowledged the death of more than 60 soldiers in Ukraine, killed in a Ukrainian strike in separatist territory in the east of the country, the heaviest losses in a single attack admitted by Moscow since the start of the invasion. . The Ukrainian general staff confirmed having carried out this strike on Makiivka, a city under Russian occupation located east of the separatist city of Donetsk, on New Year’s Eve.
In a rare announcement that followed criticism from Russian war correspondents, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said 63 Russian servicemen were killed in the explosion of “four missilesto Makiivka. The Russian army has only on very rare occasions given an assessment of its offensive or communicated on its losses. According to the Ministry of Defense, the missiles were fired by HIMARS systems, a weapon supplied by the United States to Ukrainian forces and which struck “a temporary deployment centerof the Russian army at Makiivka.
Nearly 400 dead, according to kyiv
On Monday evening, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement that its forces were behind the strikes on this city. “Up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types were destroyed and damagedsaid the General Staff. Earlier in the day, the strategic communications department of the Ukrainian armed forces said that nearly 400 Russian soldiers had been killed in Makiivka.
The General Staff, which did not confirm this figure, said that a balance sheet of “losseshuman rights was being established. The announcement of these heavy losses immediately provoked criticism of the Russian military command, accused in particular by the former separatist leader Igor Strelkov, very aware of the situation on the ground, of having stored ammunition in this unprotected building. .
Read alsoHIMARS, M777, Javelin… X-ray of these American weapons on which the Ukrainians depend
Increasingly influential Russian war reporters say hundreds killed in attack on vocational school in Makiivka, accuse top military commanders of failing to learn lessons of their past mistakes. “Ten months after the start of the war, it is dangerous and criminal to consider the enemy as a fool who sees nothingsaid Andrei Medvedev, Deputy Speaker of the Moscow City Legislative Assembly.
The governor of the Russian region of Samara, Dmitry Azarov, announced the opening of a telephone line for the relatives of the soldiers killed, among whom are his constituents. On social media, some have accused Russian authorities of downplaying the death toll. “My God, who is going to believe the number 63? The building was completely destroyedwrote a Russian, Nina Vernykh, on the main Russian social network VKontakte. On this social network, Russians were invited to collect clothes, medicines and materials for survivors.
SEE ALSO – War in Ukraine: towards a stalemate?
Russian strikes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that his army has shot down more than 80 drones since the start of 2023.In the near future, this number may increase“, did he declare. The announcement of this strike comes after a New Year marked by Russian bombardments on kyiv and other cities on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which left five people dead and dozens injured.
On Monday, kyiv again came under fire from Iranian-made drones but Ukrainian forces said the majority were shot down. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported an explosion in the northeast of the city. On Monday evening, the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegoubov claimed that Ukraine’s second largest city and its region were once again the target of Russian missiles.
Read alsoThese counter-offensive scenarios that kyiv is preparing to win the war
“Critical infrastructure targeted“, he wrote. Ukrainian Chief of Staff Valery Zaluzhny said the military had so far released “40% of territories occupied after February 24“. Four loud explosions were heard Monday evening by AFP journalists in the Kramatorsk region, the de facto administrative capital of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Regional authorities tweeted that “two missilesin Druzhkivka and Yakovlivka, near Kramatorsk, and reports 2 injuries.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on social media Monday evening that it used high-precision weapons to carry out strikes near Kramatorsk and in the Kharkiv region, claiming to have killed “more than 70 foreign mercenaries“.
Ukraine and European Union Summit
After a series of military setbacks on the ground and Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian territory and annexed Crimea, Moscow opted from October to bombard infrastructure in Ukraine, regularly causing power cuts, heating and water. According to the UN human rights official, they cause “immense difficultiesto Ukrainians.
Ukraine and the European Union will hold a summit in Kyiv on February 3 to discuss European financial and military support, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office said in a statement on Monday. Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the details of this high-level meeting during a telephone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Read alsoIn Ukraine, the mobilization to repair the broken faces of the war: the story of the special envoy of Figaro
According to the statement, they referred to the delivery of weapons “appropriateand the launch of the new €18 billion financial assistance program for Ukraine adopted in December by the European Parliament. kyiv insisted that a first contribution be paid to his country in January.
SEE ALSO – Russian military says pre-New Year strikes in Ukraine targeted drone factories