Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 89 Russian soldiers were killed in the Ukrainian HIMARS strike on a facility housing Russian troops in Donetsk that took place on January 1, raising the death toll from 63.
“The first medical aid was provided; wounded individuals were evacuated to medical institutions. Regrettably, the death toll of our comrades increased to 89 when removing structural steel debris,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Ukraine fired six missiles from the US-provided HIMARS rocket systems, and Russia said four struck a school that was being used to house troops in the city of Makeyevka. A Russian military official blamed the massive death toll on Russian soldiers using their phones.
“It has already become obvious at present that the main cause of the occurrence was activation and large-scale use, contrary to the ban, of personal phones by personnel within the reach of enemy’s destruction means,” said Lt. Gen. Sergey Sevryukov, the deputy head of a political department of the Russian Armed Forces.
Sevryukov said that the cell phone use “enabled the enemy to take the bearing and determine coordinates of servicemen location to deliver a missile strike.” It’s possible the US could have provided Ukraine with intelligence to carry out the strike, as Washington has been sharing information with Kyiv to help its fight against Russia.
Satellite or a bunch of young soldiers calling home on cell phones on the biggest holiday in Russia. It’s a war zone treat it like a war zone.
1. Disperse the troops and prohibit large social gatherings even for New Year’s eve and Orthodox Christmas on 7 January.
2. Prohibit the use of cell phones in a combat zone.
3. Do not store ammunition where troops are housed.
4. It is time to eliminate the Ukrainian government just like America would do.
5. It is time to thrust south from Belarus cutting all supply lines from Poland to Kiev.
“It’s possible the US could have provided Ukraine with intelligence to carry out the strike, as Washington” Bwahahahahaha! Possible? Wow! It is very probable that we have indeed provided intelligence.
Or also very likely that the thousands and thousands of Ukrainians living in Russian controlled territory have an actual cell phone network as well as other means and communicate with each other the positions of Russian soldiers, equipment, and ammo locations.
This is the LEAST likely. Any Ukrainians that did not want to live in Russian controlled regions — left. Nobody is stopping them. People that remain are Russian speakers who could not wait to get away from Kuev rule, Not likely candidates.
But it makes total sense that US is providing intellugence on targeting. US is in war here, back to Obama years, leading from behind.
“Any Ukrainians that did not want to live in Russian controlled regions — left.”
Yes, because most of them were rich Ukrainian people that could afford to leave their houses and everything behind and buy new homes in the West just like in Kherson city.
If you think that all Ukrainians living in Russian stolen land love Putin, you are in for big surprise.
Yes, you are right. Once a country fractures, there is no way back. Kiev wanted Ukraine to stop being bi-lingual state, and Russian speaking areas were to comply. If not, deprived of jobs, prosecuted, without any political representation. Also, those that could, left everything behind to luve in Russia.
Until Russia annexed four areas. Now, it is Ukrainians that dis not want to live in Russia that left.
This is a simple lesson -/ governments should never take sides and give precerence to one religion, language or culture. Such deiberate decisions are based on an assumption that the targeted group is too weak and will have to yield: go or assimilate. Or, worse, based on assumtion that Russia would be forced to intervene militarily, weakening its commercial, diplomatic and military capacity.
But the outcome is – the country will split. If one side always tries to subjugate other — there is no chance of amicable cohabitation.
This is the entire point. Western Ukraine isn’t interested in the people in the east – only in their resources. It’s all about the land. Kiev doesn’t give a crap about the humans who live there.
There was already an article about the CIA sending sleeper cells to Russia. It was only a week or so ago, but we are supposed to forget.
Of course. Ukraine has very limited targetting cqpability. To be this precise required some intelligence sharing.
I’m betting on the Americans. After all, we’re the sponsor of this clusterf*ck.
Well, one would presume – even hope – that IF they were tracked because of cell phone use, the survivors will be discouraged from repeating the error.
However, I’m not convinced based on a single set of reports, that the location wasn’t provided by US personnel or Ukrainian spies in the area.
One would think that all of the cellphone towers in Donetsk would be fully controlled by the Donetsk People’s Republic. Unless Kyev has a way to eavesdrop, I’m not sure how they could distinguish one type of caller from another in a densely populated area. So, I am inclined to agree with you. Human intelligence seems the most likely culprit.
That said, somebody will likely be held accountable for concentrating so much military value in a location that can be reached by the HIMARS.
Human intelligence is certainly one of the primary possibilities, but:
– Presumably DPR no longer exists, its former territory having been annexed by the Russian Federation;
– Russian forces don’t control all of Donetsk at the moment;
– Even if all cell towers are under Russian (or DPR, if that’s still a thing) control, which seems unlikely, the Ukrainians almost certainly have IMSI-catchers, radio emission detectors and locators, etc.
It could have been as simple as “there’s quite a bit of cellular activity in that area, and it seems to be using a particular cell network that we associate with Russian, rather than Ukrainian, users.”
I’m betting the US agents in the area have access to all that capability as well.