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Makiivka military quarters shelling

Coordinates: 48°03′19″N 37°54′54″E / 48.05532°N 37.91499°E / 48.05532; 37.91499
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Makiivka military quarters shelling
Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Location
Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine (controlled and claimed by the DPR, Russia)

48°03′19″N 37°54′54″E / 48.05532°N 37.91499°E / 48.05532; 37.91499
TargetRussian military personnel stationed at Professional Technical School No. 19
Date31 December 2022 (2022-12-31) – 1 January 2023 (2023-01-01)
23:57 – 0:01[1] (UTC+02:00)
Executed by Ukrainian Ground Forces
Casualties
  • 89 killed (per Russia)[1]
  • 139 killed (confirmed by names, per BBC News Russian)[2]
  • 400 killed, 300 wounded (per Ukraine)
  • 610 killed (Ukrainian intelligence from Russian call)[3]
Makiivka is located in Ukraine
Makiivka
Makiivka

During the night of 31 December 2022/1 January 2023,[4] the Ukrainian Ground Forces launched a rocket strike on the building of Professional Technical School (PTU) No. 19 in Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast.[5][6] Ukrainian officials claimed that the attack killed 400 Russian troops, while Russian officials initially confirmed that 63 troops were killed,[7][8] but raised the death toll to 89 two days later.[1] The attack was carried out using HIMARS rockets, and resulted in the destruction of the building and nearby military equipment.[7]

Attack

Mobilized men, approximately 600 of them from Saratov Oblast, were crowded together in the building of PTU No. 19 at 48 Kremlivska Street, with ammunition piles in the basement below them. Ukrainian forces made three attacks with M142 HIMARS at 23:57, 23:59 and 00:00 hours.[4] Two out of six rockets were intercepted, according to the Russian military,[1] while the remaining rockets hit the building and detonated the ammunition stored below.[4]

Casualties

Between 400 and 500 deaths and 300 injuries were reported by the Ukrainian army. However, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not present the numbers in its daily update of Russian losses.[5] Pro-Russian Telegram channels reported the deaths of hundreds of mobilized troops.[9][5] An unnamed source close to the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic only confirmed to Reuters "dozens" of dead, calling reports of a death toll above 100 exaggerated.[6] On 2 January, Russia initially acknowledged 63 soldiers had died in the attack,[7] updating the figure two days later to 89 dead.[1][10] Mobilized soldiers from Samara Oblast, part of the 1444th Motor Rifle Regiment, were among those killed in Makiivka.[11] The regiment's deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bachurin, was reported to be among the dead.[1][12][13][14] On 3 February 2023, BBC News Russian reported they had documented the deaths of 101 soldiers in the attack, while 18 remained missing.[15] By 17 March 2023, they updated the confirmed number of dead to 139.[2]

The General Staff of Ukraine claimed 10 vehicles destroyed.[8]

On 11 January 2023, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Chief Intelligence Department released a phone call that it said was intercepted between a Russian "occupier" and her husband. The woman told her husband that another soldier had "personally transported the bodies of these people from Makiivka and from another [settlement]... from the hospital. He says 610 people died in Makiivka. He says, ‘I drove 12 Kamaz trucks [filled with bodies – ed.]’."[3]

Reactions

Russian military correspondents criticized the deployment of so many soldiers in an unsafe building.[16][17] An official in the Russian-controlled Donetsk administration, Daniil Bezsonov, called for the military officers responsible to be "punished" for placing a large number of troops at this barracks.[8] Igor Girkin wrote on Telegram "many hundreds ... remained under the rubble", and "Our generals are untrainable in principle". Russian-appointed Donetsk officials blamed the soldiers for having accessed their mobile phones.[18] Russian parliamentarian Sergey Mironov has called for the prosecution of responsible officials "whether they wear epaulets or not".[19]

In retaliation, Russian forces destroyed an ice arena in Druzhkivka, allegedly housing Ukrainian military personnel, on 3 January. Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed the attack killed up to 200 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed four HIMARS launchers. According to Ukrainian authorities, two people were injured in the attack on Druzhkivka.[18][20]

Russia claimed to have attacked Ukrainian barracks in Kramatorsk as revenge for the Ukrainian attack on Russian barracks at Makiivka. A Finnish and more than one Reuters journalist visited the site and reported that there was no evidence of damage to any dormitories nor any casualties, or even evidence that Ukrainian soldiers were present in the building.[21][22][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Statement by First Deputy Chief of Main Military-Political Directorate of Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov". mil.ru. Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. 4 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Потери России за 13 месяцев войны в Украине: скачок смертей заключенных" [Russia's losses in 13 months of the war in Ukraine: a jump in the deaths of prisoners]. BBC News Russian. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Over 600 bodies transported in truckloads: Russia hides Makiivka losses, fearing rebellion". kyivindependent.com. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "AFU Destroy Base In Makiivka: 400 Occupiers Dead". Charter 97. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Прокремлёвские каналы сообщили о гибели "сотен" мобилизованных в результате украинского удара [Pro-Kremlin channels reported the death of "hundreds" mobilized as a result of the Ukrainian strike]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Polityuk, Pavel (2 January 2022). "Russian anger grows over strike that killed dozens of troops in Ukraine". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Hancock, Sam; Maishman, Elsa (2 January 2023). "Ukraine claims hundreds of Russians killed by missile attack". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Dana, Felipe (2 January 2023). "Moscow says Ukrainian rocket strike kills 63 Russian troops". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Russia says 63 soldiers killed by Ukrainian strike in Donetsk region". Reuters. 1 January 2023. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  10. ^ Kirby, Paul (3 January 2023). "Makiivka: Russia points fingers after deadliest Ukraine attack". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  11. ^ "What we know about Ukraine's attack in Makiivka". Al Jazeera. 3 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ^ Dana, Felipe; Kozlowska, Joanna (4 January 2023). "Sitting ducks? Russian military flaws seen in troop deaths". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Russia says 89 troops killed in Ukrainian attack on Makiivka". kyivindependent.com. 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  14. ^ ""Эвакуировал под ракетным обстрелом": в Самарской области простились с погибшими в Макеевке бойцами". Лента новостей Самары (in Russian). 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  15. ^ Ivshina, Olga. "Четверть погибших - вчерашние гражданские: что известно о потерях России в Украине к февралю" [A quarter of the dead are yesterday's civilians: what is known about Russia's losses in Ukraine by February]. BBC News Russian. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  16. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (2 January 2023). "Ukraine missile strike on Russian-held city of Makiivka kills scores of troops". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  17. ^ В оккупированной Макеевке уничтожена крупная группа российских военных [A large group of Russian military personnel was killed in occupied Makiivka]. Reform.by (in Russian). 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  18. ^ a b Kelly, Lidia; Ljunggren, David (3 January 2023). McCool, Grant (ed.). "Russia Says 89 Troops Were Killed in New Year's Attack, Blames Use of Mobile Phones". U.S. News & World Report. Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  19. ^ Mpoke Bigg, Matthew; Kurmanaev, Anatoly; Pérez-Peña, Richard (2 January 2023). "Deadly Strike on Russians in Ukraine Exposes Moscow's Military Failings". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  20. ^ Smilianets, Vladyslav (8 January 2023). "No sign of casualties after Russia claims revenge attack on Ukrainian soldiers". www.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  21. ^ "Russia says it killed over 600 Ukrainian soldiers in rocket attack". Reuters. 8 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  22. ^ Smilianets, Vladyslav (8 January 2023). "No sign of casualties after Russia claims revenge attack on Ukrainian soldiers". www.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Ukraine denies Russian claims that 'massive missile strike' killed 600 Ukrainian troops". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
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