AP — KYIV, Ukraine At least 63 Russian soldiers were stationed there when it was hit by Ukrainian rockets on Tuesday, dealing another blow to the Kremlin's war plans as Ukraine claims Moscow's strategies may be changing.
Five cranes and emergency personnel could be seen removing large chunks of concrete under a clear blue sky in an Associated Press video of the scene in Makiivka, a town in the eastern Donetsk region that is only partially under Russian control.
According to a Russian Defense Ministry statement, the attack, which allegedly took place over the weekend, was carried out by Ukrainian forces using rockets fired from a HIMARS multiple launch system provided by the United States.
According to the Strategic Communications Directorate of the Ukrainian military, about 400 mobilised Russian soldiers were killed and another 300 were injured in a Makiivka vocational school building on Sunday. It was impossible to independently verify that assertion. The vocational school was not mentioned in the Russian statement, which simply stated that the strike happened "in the area of Makiivka."
The AP's analysis of satellite images reveals what appears to be the strike's aftereffects. A picture from December 20 showed the structure standing. A picture from January 2 depicted it in ruins. On other days, there was heavy cloud cover, making it impossible to see the site using regular satellite imagery.
According to the official RIA Novosti news agency, vigils for the soldiers killed in the strike were held in two Russian cities on Tuesday.
Locals gathered for an Orthodox memorial service in Samara, Russia, in the southwest. Following the service, there was a moment of silence, and flowers were laid at a war memorial from the Soviet era, according to RIA.
Unverified reports in Russian-language media claimed that the victims were local reservists who had been called up for duty.
In Samara, Russia, a memorial service was held in the Orthodox faith. According to RIA, there was a moment of silence after the service and flowers were laid at a war memorial from the Soviet era.
Unconfirmed reports in Russian-language media suggested that the victims were called-up local reservists.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, said in his nightly video address late Monday, "We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack by Shaheds (exploding drones).
More than ten months after Russia invaded its neighbour, he claimed that the aim is to "exhaust our people, (our) air defence, and our energy" in order to break Ukraine's resistance.
Exploding drones are a cheap weapon that the Russian military uses to terrorise Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Concerning Tehran's alleged role in providing Moscow with the drones, the United States and its allies have argued with Iran.
According to the Institute for the Study of War, Putin is attempting to increase the number of influential Russians who support his strategy.
The think tank stated late Monday that "Russia's air and missile campaign against Ukraine is likely not generating the Kremlin's desired information effects among Russia's nationalists."
Considering that the war started more than 10 months ago, it was one of the deadliest assaults on the Kremlin's forces.
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