Russia reported on Wednesday a heavier death toll from the New Year’s Eve strike targeting Russian soldiers in Makiivka, eastern Ukraine, which climbs to 89 dead, sparking a new wave of criticism.
The number of victims in the Russian ranks, initially estimated at 63, was revised upwards after the discovery of new bodies in the ruins of the building in Makiivka, targeted by a Ukrainian strike on January 1 at 0:01 a.m., just after the transition to the new year, said Russian General Sergei Sevrioukov in a video message broadcast by his ministry.
According to him, the “main cause” of the strike is “the massive use by personnel of mobile phones” despite the ban on doing so, which allowed the Ukrainian forces to geolocate this concentration of Russian soldiers.
Mr. Sevriukov assured that “the necessary measures are being taken to avoid such tragic incidents in the future” and that “those responsible will be held to account”.
It is the heaviest toll in a single attack admitted by Moscow since the start of the offensive in February, which comes after a series of embarrassing military setbacks on the ground.
According to the Russian media, the victims were mobilized, therefore non-professional soldiers.
The announcement of this heavier toll did not fail to arouse new criticism of the Russian military command, already castigated Monday and Tuesday for its “incompetence” by Russian war correspondents and commentators.
“Impunity”
The boss of the RT channel, the spearhead of Kremlin propaganda internationally, Margarita Simonian, called for the names of Russian officers and “the extent of their responsibility” to be made public.
“It is time to understand that impunity does not lead to social harmony. Impunity leads to new crimes. And, therefore, public dissent,” she wrote on Telegram.
The pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin praised the “heroism” of the soldiers who survived the Ukrainian strike, who “risked their lives” by going “rescue their comrades” under the rubble. According to him, the deputy commander of the regiment was killed.
According to the Russian army, this attack was carried out using HIMARS missile systems, a weapon supplied by the United States to Ukraine, which makes it possible to strike far behind enemy lines.
The Ukrainian general staff confirmed having carried out this strike and the strategic communications department of the Ukrainian army claimed a much heavier toll in the Russian ranks.
According to the British Ministry of Defence, given the destruction of the building at Makiivka, “there is a realistic possibility that ammunition was stored near the troop accommodation”.
Unusual in Russia, where the authorities often remain discreet about military losses in Ukraine, around 200 people gathered on Tuesday with the approval of the authorities in Samara, where some of the soldiers killed were from, to mourn the dead. in an Orthodox ceremony.
“It’s very hard, it’s scary. But we cannot be broken. Grief unites us,” said Ekaterina Kolotovkina, president of a group of soldiers’ wives, calling for “revenge.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to respond publicly.
Attacks in Crimea
On the front in Ukraine, fighting continued on Wednesday.
Russian General Sergei Sevryukov claimed that his forces destroyed several Ukrainian missile launchers in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, and inflicted heavy casualties after the attack on Makiivka. Ukraine, for its part, reported one death and the destruction of an ice rink.
The governor of the city of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea, Maikhail Razvojayev, told him that the Russian fleet had repelled an attack by Ukrainian drones, two of which were shot down.
On the Ukrainian side, the general staff reported on Wednesday bombardments on Kramatorsk, Zaporijjia and Kherson. The fighting is also continuing, particularly in Bakhmout, the hottest point on the front, located in the east of the country.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian army remains however confronted with “systemic failures” of organization, which weigh on its operational capacity in Ukraine.