×

Criticism Mounts In Russia As Ukrainian Strike Toll Rises

Russia's defence ministry initially said on Monday that 63 soldiers had been killed in an extremely rare admission.


Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS Plus session involving the leaders of several invited states during the 14th BRICS summit - in virtual format via a video call at the Novo-Ogarevo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia on June 24, 2022. Mikhail Metzel / Sputnik / AFP
FILE: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS Plus session involving the leaders of several invited states during the 14th BRICS summit – in virtual format via a video call at the Novo-Ogarevo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia on June 24, 2022. Mikhail Metzel / Sputnik / AFP

 

Russia said Wednesday the toll climbed in its worst single reported loss from a Ukrainian strike, which under-criticism Moscow blamed on troops using mobile phones.

The Ukrainian military’s strategic communications unit has said nearly 400 Russian soldiers were killed and even Russian commentators have said the death toll may be far higher than the 89 Russia has reported.

The death toll in Makiivka, a Russian-occupied city in eastern Ukraine, is the highest reported by the Russian military in a single strike since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The deadly strike came after months of discontent towards the military, since the Kremlin suffered a series of battlefield defeats and launched a hugely unpopular mobilisation drive.

READ ALSO: Meta Hit With 390mn Euro Fine Over EU Data Breaches

Russia’s defence ministry initially said on Monday that 63 soldiers had been killed in an extremely rare admission.

On Wednesday, the ministry said the toll had climbed to 89 after more bodies were found under the rubble of the temporary base where the troops were housed.

It announced a commission was working to clarify what happened and vowed that “guilty” officials would be punished.

In a video, Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov said the tragedy had likely taken place because Russian troops had used cell phones, giving away their location to Ukrainian forces.

But some critics have accused the military of trying to shift the blame.

State television military correspondents have accused commanders of incompetence.

The strike also led to rare public displays of grief, including in the Samara region on the Volga River where some of the victims came from.

Thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine and millions forced to flee their homes since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to attack on February 24.

Following a wave of Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets on New Year’s Eve, Moscow said Ukraine struck Makiivka at 12:01 am local time on January 1, using US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems.

Putin has not yet commented on the strike, which came shortly after his New Year address in which he hailed Moscow’s “heroes” fighting in Ukraine.

– ‘Public dissent’ –

In a sign that criticism was being taken seriously, the influential head of Russia’s sate RT television channel Margarita Simonyan welcomed the army’s promise that officials “will be held accountable.”

“I hope that the names of these persons” will be announced, she said.

“It is time to understand that impunity does not lead to social harmony. Impunity leads to new crimes. And, as a result, to public dissent.”

There have been reports that the servicemen were quartered in an unprotected building which was destroyed because munitions were stored on the premises and detonated in the strike.

The Telegram account Rybar, which has around a million followers, said it was “criminally naive” for the army to store ammunition next to sleeping quarters.

– ‘Hero’ troops praised –

The governor of the Samara region — where some of the servicemen came from — Dmitry Azarov was due to visit the wounded that had been brought to the southern city of Rostov near the Ukraine border.

In comments to local media, he hailed the “courage” of the troops.

“After the shelling soldiers and officers — wounded and with concussions — saved others, pulling comrades from under the rubble,” Azarov said.

Among the dead were rank-and-file soldiers as well as “representatives of the command staff”, he said.

East Ukrainian separatist leader Denis Pushilin also hailed the “heroism” of the troops.

“The majority of them, after barely getting out of the building hit by American Himars and regaining consciousness, returned back to pull out their comrades,” Pushilin said on Telegram.

As Moscow grappled with the aftermath of the Makiivka strike, authorities in Russia-annexed Crimea as well as the southern Rostov region said drones had been shot down over their territories.

Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, said two civilians were killed by a Ukrainian Himars strike in the village of Vasilyevka in the Zaporizhzhia region.

On the Ukrainian side, the general staff reported Russian shelling in Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

The presidency said five people had been killed and 13 wounded by Russian fire in the past 24 hours.