The Russian Defense Ministry has updated the death toll of servicemen killed as a result of an attack by Ukrainian troops on Sunday on the village of Makivka in the Donetsk region to 89, increasing the previous casualty count by more than 20.
Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov, commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, explained that the soldiers, including the deputy commander, were found «in the course of clearing the rubble of reinforced concrete structures», according to statements reported by the Interfax agency.
Sevryukov explained that two missiles were intercepted by the air defense forces, but four others, «with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, hit the building», causing the collapse of the infrastructure roofs.
The commander explained, according to preliminary investigations, that «it is clear that the main reason for what happened was the massive use by the personnel of cell phones within range of enemy weapons», a measure which is not allowed by the Army.
However, the senior Russian official added that his troops have subsequently destroyed the Ukrainian facility from which the rockets were launched against Makivka, Donetsk, eliminating weapons and more than two hundred servicemen.
Ukraine attacked this location on New Year’s Eve, at 00.01 Moscow time on January 1, claiming to have «killed or wounded» hundreds of Russian servicemen.
Donetsk is, along with Lugansk the epicenter of a conflict since 2014, which spread nationwide following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to launch a military offensive against Ukraine. Putin announced in September the annexation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporiyia, all of which were partially occupied as part of the invasion.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
