Russia now says 89 killed in Ukraine attack, blames mobile phones

Ukraine claims that about 400 Russian soldiers were killed in attack on military quarters in Makiivka on Sunday.

Russia’s defence ministry has raised to 89 the number of its military personnel killed in a recent Ukrainian rocket raid on a school housing soldiers in Makiivka, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, and blamed the attack on unauthorised use of mobile phones by its forces.

While Ukraine has claimed that about 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the missile attack in the first minutes of New Year’s Day on Sunday, Moscow had until Wednesday maintained that 63 Russian soldiers were killed.

Russia’s initial admission of 63 deaths was already highly unusual as it marked the most significant loss of life from a single raid confirmed by Moscow since the start of its Ukraine invasion in February 2022.

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