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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed by missile attack |
| 2023-01-04 |
| [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 |
| #6 Looks like it already has one. |
| Posted by: Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 17:08 |
| #5 /\ bluhat55 2 hr. ago Needs a bayonet My choice for Snark O'The Day. What about it ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-01-04 17:05 |
| #4 JDAM guidance kits have arrived in Ukraine and integrated w/ Russian style bombs. Also looks like a (Ukrainian?) pop out wing kit attached below the 500kg bomb. That could give the bomb a range similar to HiMARS with 10X the explosive punch.. |
| Posted by: Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 16:35 |
| #3 Makiivka is one of a series of attacks targeting newly arrived mobik detachments. It seems Russian command is keeping them bunched up in one place (ammo dump in basement optional). Guess command afraid they will get "lost" if dispersed. Tokmak, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Polohy, Kakhovka, Chulakovka, Fedorovka and more. This video tries to explain it. |
| Posted by: Waldemar the Limber5043 2023-01-04 13:24 |
| #2 /\ Clustering signals? Yes, could be a target indicator. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-01-04 07:20 |
| #1 Makiivka: Russia blames missile attack on soldiers' mobile phone use |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-01-04 07:07 |