The strike in Makiivka, Moscow’s rare admission and the change of time with Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities
By Athena Papakosta
It was one of the deadliest strikes against the Russian military since the start of the war in Ukraine. It was marked on New Year’s Eve in eastern Donetsk province, in the city of Makiivka, and was followed by a relentless pounding by the Russian armed forces for two consecutive nights with air raid sirens blaring across Ukrainian territory.
According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, “63 Russian soldiers were killed” in the “wider area of ​​Makiivka”. For its part, Kyiv reported that the number of dead Russian soldiers reached 400 and the number of wounded reached 300.
However, these numbers have not yet been verified. A vocational school building, which temporarily housed Russian soldiers, was reduced to rubble and debris by the attack. Moscow said six rockets were fired from US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, adding that two missiles were shot down.
For Russian military bloggers, who have been a reliable source during the war, they noted that near the building chosen to house the soldiers, there was an ammunition depot – a fact that accounts for the high death toll.
At the same time, Daniil Bezhsonov, a Russian official in Russian-held Donetsk, called for Moscow’s military officials to be punished for ordering a large number of Russian soldiers to be housed in this professional shelter building.
Late on Monday afternoon, the Ukrainian armed forces claimed responsibility for the attack in Makiivka, stressing that 10 units of military equipment were destroyed, adding, in addition, that the number of dead has not yet been specified.
Moscow made a rare admission about losses in the Ukraine war. After all, analysts point out that she had no choice but to remain silent. So far, it has acknowledged 63 dead, the highest publicly acknowledged casualty figure from a single strike.
Hours after the strike in Makiivka, Ukrainian cities – including Kiev – were attacked overnight. The Russians for at least two nights, on New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day, launched an attack with missiles and Iranian-made drones, with the Ukrainian side reporting that it shot down all 39 drones launched by Russia on January 1.
Ukrainian air defenses are gaining ground and have been improving lately with the result that the Russians are being pressured and it shows. For example, it was the first time that the Russian side did not wait a week to deliver methodical strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and it was the first time that it launched entirely nighttime raids.
“We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack with Shahed drones (…) It is probably based on exhausting our people, air defense, energy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his speech last night.
On the ground there is no particularly noteworthy movement due to the adverse weather conditions with the Russian army continuing its attack on Donetsk in the east of the country and the Ukrainian army fighting back… resisting.
Moscow, however, currently holds almost 20% of Ukrainian territory under its control and since October, when “General Armageddon” took over, Commander-in-Chief Sergei Surovykin, has been hitting Ukrainian infrastructure, causing constant blackouts and power outages. water supply.
Ukrainians are living in the dark and cold with their morale still high thanks to the help of the West which is slowly bearing fruit. But the war in Ukraine looks like a war of attrition about which the Financial Times wrote a day ago that “neither Russia nor Ukraine can achieve total victory”.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
