Russia's Defense Ministry says 89 of its military personnel were killed in a recent Ukrainian rocket attack, which targeted a school housing soldiers in Makiivka, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. The fall of victims, called Russia, related to the use of smartphones by its troops.
"The number of our comrades who died reached 89 people," Lieutenant General Sergey Sevryukov said in a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Wednesday (4/1/2023) morning local time.
"The death toll has increased after more bodies were found under the rubble in the town of Makiivka," he was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
He added that the use of cellphones, alias cellphones, among Russian soldiers contributed to the attack. "It is clear that the main reason for what happened was the activation and use of which was prohibited, especially in the enemy's weapons range zone," he said.
"This factor allows the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the location of troops and makes it easier for missile attacks to occur," he added.
The devastating attack on a school being converted into a military base has sparked outrage among Russian nationalists and some legislators who have again questioned the military strategy of Russian commanders in Ukraine.
In a post on the Telegram instant messaging application, Igor Girkin, a former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer who was instrumental in starting the early 2014 war in the Donbas region, said ammunition and military equipment had been stored in the buildings housing the troops. .
Russian Army, contributed in terms of explosive power. Girkin blamed the "untrainable" Russian generals for the defeat.