Conflicts & War

Russia says 600 Ukrainian soldiers killed in massive missile strike

Moscow, Jan 8 (EFE).- Russia’s defense ministry on Sunday claimed that it had killed over 600 Ukrainian soldiers in two military barracks in the Ukrainian stronghold of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region.

General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian defense ministry spokesman, said that following a “massive missile strike” on buildings that were temporarily housing Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Kramatorsk, some 600 Ukrainian servicemen had been “eliminated”.

According to the source, there were more than 1,300 soldiers in both barracks.

The Russian general described the bombardment as a “revenge operation” in retaliation to Kyiv’s strikes carried out on New Year’s eve against a Russian military unit in the city of Makiivka, also in Donetsk.

According to Moscow, 89 soldiers died during the Ukrainian strike carried out with HIMARS missile launchers.

The claim comes after a 36-hour truce, unilaterally activated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday during the Orthodox Christian Christmas period, expired at midnight on Saturday.

Konashenkov said that Russia had respected the ceasefire and had only responded to enemy attacks, although both Kyiv and the United States have accused Moscow of continuing to pummel Ukraine in various regions on the front line.

In his daily address to the nation Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “the world was once again able to see today how false any words of any level that sound from Moscow are. They said something there about an alleged ceasefire… But the reality is that Russian rounds hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions again.”EFE

mos/ch

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