Ukraine’s military has dismissed as false Russia’s claim that it launched a “retaliatory” missile attack on Sunday that killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers stationed in Kramatorsk in the hotly contested Donetsk region.
Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s forces in the east, told The Associated Press that the missiles had damaged civilian infrastructure, but “the armed forces of Ukraine were not harmed.”
Earlier, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that Russian intelligence “detected and reliably confirmed” through several independent channels the location of some temporary Ukrainian military bases in Kramatorsk.
“More than 600 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a massive rocket attack on these temporary bases of Ukrainian units,” he said.
The ministry said the attack was retaliation for Ukraine’s strike a week ago on buildings housing Russian troops in Makiivka, about 60 miles south of Kramatorsk. The Kremlin said the airstrike killed 89 Russian soldiers; Ukrainian authorities estimate the death toll to be much higher.
Sunday’s missile strike came hours after the end of a partially monitored 36-hour unilateral Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to celebrate Russian Orthodox Christmas.
UKRAINE RESPONDS TO PUTIN’S Ceasefire Order:USA to send Bradley cars to Ukraine
Other changes:
►50 Ukrainian fighters returned home after exchanging prisoners with Russia, Ukrainian authorities reported. Thirty-three were officers, 17 were privates and sergeants. Russia said 50 of its soldiers had been freed.
►Ukrainian tennis player Ekaterina Volodko beat Russian Valery Savinykh in the final of the tennis tournament held in Thailand.
►Russia and Belarus will conduct joint air force tactical exercises from January 16 to February 1, Belarusian officials said. Belarus has been Russia’s closest ally since the invasion of Ukraine more than 10 months ago.
UKRAINE WELCOME US MILITARY AIDas “very powerful”; The Christmas truce, they say, is faltering
The British say that Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine in the spring
Russia is strengthening its fortifications in Zaporozhye amid concerns that a major Ukrainian breakthrough in the southeastern region will pose a serious challenge to the viability of Russia’s “land bridge” between Russia and Crimea, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said. The ministry also says in its latest assessment of the war that the Russians are concerned that Ukraine’s success in the Luhansk region will further undermine the Kremlin’s professed war goal of “liberating” Donbass.
“Deciding which of these threats to prioritize combat is likely to be one of the main dilemmas for the Russian operations planner,” the assessment said.
Contributed by: The Associated Press.
