Russia’s defense ministry claimed it had launched a “retaliatory missile” on Sunday that killed 600 Ukrainian troops in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine’s hotly contested Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the claim.
“As a result of a massive rocket attack on these points of temporary deployment of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, more than 600 Ukrainian military personnel were killed,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the attack was in retaliation for an attack by Ukraine last week on buildings housing Russian soldiers in Makiivka, about 60 miles south of Kramatorsk. That strike killed 89 Russian servicemen, the Kremlin said; Ukrainian authorities estimate that the death toll was much higher.
The attack came hours after the end of a partially observed, 36-hour unilateral ceasefire that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered to celebrate Russian Orthodox Christmas.
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Other developments:
â–ºUkrainian tennis player Ekaterina Volodko defeated Russian Valeria Savinykh in the final of a tennis tournament in Thailand.
â–ºRussia and Belarus will conduct joint tactical air force exercises from January 16 to February 1, Belarusian officials announced. Belarus is Russia’s closest ally since the invasion of Ukraine more than 10 months ago.
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Russia braces for Ukrainian offensive in spring, British say
Russia has strengthened its fortifications in Zaporizhzhia, concerned that a major Ukrainian breakthrough in the southeastern region would seriously jeopardize the viability of Russia’s “land bridge” Russia and Crimea, the British defense ministry says. The ministry also says in its latest assessment of the war that the Russians are concerned that Ukraine’s success in the Luhansk region would further undermine the Kremlin’s alleged war goal of “liberating” the Donbas.
“Deciding which of these threats to prioritize is likely to be one of the central dilemmas for the Russian operational planner,” the assessment said.
Contributions: The The Bharat Express News
