Russia announced a “retaliatory” strike in eastern Ukraine that killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers, however, a military spokesman for the Eastern Military District command called the news a Russian media operation, while the Ukrainian president highlighted the Ukrainian army’s attack on Bach Mutter and Soledad’s firm stand.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that based on reliable information, its troops carried out missile attacks on two hotels in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, in the Donbas region (eastern Ukraine), where about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers are temporarily staying. There.
The Russian Defense Ministry added that the airstrike, which killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers, was in response to Ukrainian bombings that followed a New Year’s Eve attack on Russian troops stationed at Makeyevka in Donetsk.
Officially, 89 Russian soldiers were killed in the operation, which according to Ukrainian troops and Russian bloggers claimed hundreds of lives.
However, Sergei Cherevati, spokesman for the Eastern Bloc of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said all Russian claims about the killing of 600 Ukrainian soldiers were baseless.
Cherevati described it as an “information operation by the Russian Ministry of Defense” to show that it was responding aggressively to the Ukrainian strike.
The mayor of Kramatorsk also denied any deaths in the city by posting on his social media accounts. Authorities in Kyiv did not immediately comment on the attack.
russia attack impact
Reuters, on the other hand, reported that the missile strike caused damage but did not destroy buildings and there were no visible signs of casualties.
The report said its reporters also visited two university dormitories that the Russian Ministry of Defense said were used to temporarily house Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines of the war when the nighttime attack occurred. Neither university dormitory appeared to have been hit by direct missiles or badly damaged.
Russia has repeatedly bombed the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, one of four provinces that Moscow officially declared part of Russian territory after Kyiv and the West rejected it.
Kramatorsk is a few miles northwest of Bakhmut, a small city Russia has been trying to seize for more than five months in intense fighting that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in recent weeks.
Bakhmut and Soledar fight
Ukrainian President Zelensky said that under “very difficult” conditions, the Ukrainian army repelled successive attacks on Bakhmut and held its position in the nearby city of Soledar.
Zelensky added in a video address in the evening, “No matter what happens, Bakhmut will stand strong, and although Russian attacks have destroyed most of the city, our soldiers are repelling Russian attempts to advance. “
Zelenskiy also said that “Soledar is still going strong, despite the huge damage and the very difficult situation.”
Pro-Russian forces in the Luhansk region said Ukrainian troops had been ordered to withdraw from the city of Soledar.
However, the Ukrainian army confirmed that Soledar remained under its control and said fighting continued near it given the use of heavy weapons by Russian forces.Return to Sohu to see more
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