Ukraine says it killed around four hundred Russian soldiers in a missile attack in the occupied Donetsk region just after midnight on New Year’s Day. Russia has said that sixty-three of its troops were killed.
The missile targeted a building in the city of Makiivka, where Russian forces were thought to be stationed.
The Russian base in Makiivka is but dust. HIMARS have delivered absolute carnage. An expected response for the Russian Shahed terror attacks on New Years Eve and the newest reminder that no matter where Russians position themselves, they are not safe. #Ukraine #Donetsk #Makiivka pic.twitter.com/Pfguo4phIK
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) January 1, 2023
Donetsk has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014, and it is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow attempted to annex in October in violation of international law.
Fatalities among Russian soldiers less than Ukraine claims
Russia has said that sixty-three of its troops were killed. The ministry said in a statement on Monday that Ukraine’s military had launched six projectiles at the “provisional base” in the eastern city of Makiivka using the HIMARS guided rocket system supplied by the United States.
Two of the missiles were shot down by Russian air defenses, it added, but four struck the building. Earlier on Monday, Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Russian-backed official in the occupied parts of Donetsk, said the missile struck Makiivka two minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day.
“A massive blow was dealt to the vocational school from American MLRS Himars,” he said, referring to US-provided missiles.
“There were dead and wounded, [but] the exact number is still unknown,” Bezsonov added in a post on the messaging app Telegram.
Surprise! pic.twitter.com/R0gSLvm2LN
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 1, 2023
According to the Ukrainian military, three hundred people were wounded in addition to the estimated four hundred killed.
The Russian-installed administration said at least twenty-five rockets were fired at the region overnight on New Year’s Eve.
Ukraine dealt a pin point massive blow on Russian military. Some more than 200 casualties and injuries at a Vocational Technical Construction School No. 19 (image) housing Russian soldiers. Strike inflicted by American MLRS HIMARS on Makeevka, close to Donetsk. pic.twitter.com/dY6stTTlbP
— Pacific Geopolitics (@PacGeopolitics) January 2, 2023
Russia attacks Kyiv in Ukraine
Hours after the strike in Makiivka, Kyiv came under fire. A drone and missile attack targeted critical infrastructure, the Ukrainian capital’s regional governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, said.
One man in Kyiv was injured by debris from a destroyed Russian drone, the capital’s mayor added.
It came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wished for victory and a “return to normal” for Ukraine in 2023.
He used his first address of the year to underline the “sense of unity” in the country and contrast it with the “fear” he said is felt in Russia.
“Our sense of unity, authenticity, life itself—all this contrasts dramatically with the fear that prevails in Russia,” said Zelensky in an address published Sunday evening local time.
Zelensky added: “They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid. Because they are losing. Drones, missiles, anything else will not help them. Because we are together. And they are together only with fear.”
In a new year address on Russian TV, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would fight to protect its sovereignty and independence.
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