Russian claims that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an attack have been deemed “propaganda” by Ukraine.
Moscow asserted, without providing evidence, that a “massive missile strike” in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed over 600 Ukrainian forces.
It claimed it was in retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian base on New Year’s Day that killed dozens of Russian soldiers.
However, the Ukrainian military disputes this claim.
Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman for the Ukrainian army, told, “This is again another piece of Russian misinformation.”
The Russian defense ministry reported that a strike on buildings temporarily housing Ukrainian forces resulted in the deaths of more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers. Moscow reported that more than 1,300 Ukrainian troops were housed in two buildings.
It described the attacks as a “retaliatory strike” in retaliation for the deaths of 89 Russian soldiers in Makiivka. Ukraine estimates that as many as 400 people were killed or injured in this tragedy. But Russian nationalists on social media have cited figures in the hundreds.
Moscow has failed to provide substantiation of its allegation of the dead in Kramatorsk.
The locations of two sites in Kramatorsk that are approximately one mile apart by comparing images of the attack released by local officials to Google satellite imagery and other images online.
Structures housed Ukrainian military personnel
The strikes occurred near vocational schools 28 and 47, whose numbers correspond to the dormitory numbers issued by Russia. According to Moscow, the structures housed Ukrainian military personnel.
However, there is no observable proof that these two buildings were severely damaged or that there were as many casualties as Russia claims.
Not that Russia’s 36-hour ceasefire even remotely resembled a truce. But we felt seven or six explosions in Kramatorsk nearly immediately after it ended.
The shaking of the windows prompted us to seek shelter. Before it, we had only heard a few sirens and soft thuds. This signaled a return to the nearly daily missile attacks Kramatorsk has seen.
In contrast to the surrounding region, Moscow’s ceasefire had produced only a slight lull in the city’s turmoil.
The local mayor shared photographs of damaged structures and reported that two educational facilities, eight housing complexes. And garages were affected by the explosions.
Contrary to allegations made by the Kremlin, there were no documented casualties.
After the end of what Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a 36-hour ceasefire by Russian forces so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas. Shelling resumed in various regions of Ukraine overnight. The evidence suggests that Moscow did not adhere to this so-called ceasefire.
According to Ukrainian officials, at least one person was murdered in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Also reported were explosions in the southern Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol.
Separately, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Ukraine had returned 50 seized Russian servicemen following negotiations. Kyiv acknowledged that Russia had provided the same number of soldiers in exchange.
