|
2023-01-04 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
|
|
Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed by missile attack
|
[BBC] Ukraine has confirmed it carried out a strike in the occupied region of Donetsk, which it earlier claimed killed 400 Russian troops.
Russian officials contested the figure, saying only 63 troops were killed. Neither claim has been verified, and access to the site is restricted.
The attack on New Year's Day hit a building in the city of Makiivka, where Russian forces were stationed.
It is extremely rare for Moscow to confirm any battlefield casualties.
But this was such a deadly attack, says the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, that staying silent most probably wasn't an option.
It is the highest number of deaths acknowledged by Moscow in a single incident since the war began ten months ago.
In a statement on Monday, Russia's defence ministry said Ukrainian forces fired six rockets using the US-made Himars rocket system at a building housing Russian troops. Two of them were shot down, it added.
A number of Russian commentators and bloggers acknowledged the attack - but said the numbers were lower than claimed by Ukraine.
But Igor Girkin, a pro-Russian commentator, said hundreds had been killed and maimed, although the exact number was still unknown because of the large number still missing.
The building itself was "almost completely destroyed", he said.
He added that the victims were mainly mobilised troops - that is, recent conscripts, rather than those who chose to fight. He also said ammunition was stored in the same building as the soldiers, making the damage worse.
"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. 
|
Posted by Fred 2023-01-04 00:03||
||
Front Page|| [11144 views ]
Top
File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
|
|
Posted by Skidmark 2023-01-04 07:07||
2023-01-04 07:07||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Besoeker 2023-01-04 07:20||
2023-01-04 07:20||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 13:24||
2023-01-04 13:24||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 16:35||
2023-01-04 16:35||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Besoeker 2023-01-04 17:05||
2023-01-04 17:05||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 17:08||
2023-01-04 17:08||
Front Page
Top
|
|
09:27 Warthog
09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
06:58 NN2N1
06:58 Besoeker
05:28 Whiskey Mike
|
