Russia says 89 troops were killed in New Year's attack, blames use of mobile phones

Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that 89 servicemen were killed in the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, adding the main reason for the attack was unauthorised use of mobile phones by the troops.

"It is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the switching on and massive use - contrary to the prohibition - by personnel of mobile phones in a reach zone of enemy weapons," the ministry said in a statement.

"This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers' location for a missile strike."

The strike just after midnight on New Year's Day on a school that was converted into military quarters in Makiivka has spurred anger among Russian nationalists and some lawmakers, questioning the military strategy used there. Russia previously said 63 Russian soldiers were killed.

The defence ministry said four rockets from the U.S.-made HIMARS launchers hit the building, adding that "from the detonation of the warheads of the HIMARS rockets, the ceilings of the building collapsed."

The ministry added in its statement on the Telegram messaging app that a commission is investigating the circumstances of the attack.

The ministry also suggested that in return, it launched air strikes launched at a "hardware concentration" near Druzhkivka railway station in Donetsk, killing up to 200 Ukrainian personnel, and destroying four HIMARS launchers and more than 800 rockets.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Tuesday that two people were wounded in the attack on Druzhkivka, which destroyed an ice hockey arena.

BAKHMUT FIGHTING

General Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said the situation on the front line near the eastern town of Bakhmut was particularly tough.

Russian forces have repeatedly tried to take Bakhmut and the surrounding area, in some cases literally advancing over the corpses of their own soldiers, Zaluzhny wrote on the Telegram messaging app, saying Ukrainian forces were hanging on.

A little known patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers is calling on Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy reiterated Ukrainian assertions that Moscow is planning a full-scale mobilisation, a step that Russian officials say is not currently being considered.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington had seen reports "that the Ukrainian military struck a Russian military barracks that stored ammunition inside of Ukrainian territory" and led to many Russian deaths. "We have also read reports that many of these soldiers were new recruits."

Putin plans to talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax, the latest in a series of conversations the two men have had since the start of the war.

Turkey acted as mediator alongside the United Nations last year to establish a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports but the chances of serious peace talks look remote, especially as fighting continues to rage.

Ukraine's General Zaluzhny, summarising a Tuesday call with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, thanked the American for helping ensure the provision of anti-missile weapons systems that Kyiv says is knocking out more and more of the Russian missiles aimed at power-generating plants.

Zaluzhny said he had discussed what equipment Ukraine needed to increase its chances against Russia, a message that senior officials have hammered on a daily basis.

"Right now is the moment when, together with our partners, we should strengthen our defence," said Zelenskiy.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Zelenskiy that he can count on Britain for support over the long run "as demonstrated by the recent delivery of more than 1,000 anti-air missiles", Sunak's office said on Tuesday.

Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, what he calls a "special military operation", on Feb. 24, 2022 to deter threats to Russian security and to protect Russian speakers. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked imperialist-style grab for territory.