The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that more than 600 Ukrainian troops have died in a massive missile attack on two buildings in eastern Ukraine that temporarily housed the Ukrainian military.
Moscow said the “retaliatory strike” against the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine was meant to avenge the deaths of 89 Russian servicemen killed in Makiivka.
“More than 600 Ukrainian servicemen have died” in a strike on Kyiv troops stationed in two buildings in Kramatorsk that were used as barracks, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, calling the strike a “retaliatory strike.”
The AFP news agency was unable to immediately verify the report, but Reuters reported that the Russian missile caused damage but did not destroy any buildings, and there were no clear signs of casualties.
Reuters journalists visited two college dormitories that the Russian Defense Ministry said temporarily housed Ukrainian troops close to the front lines during the night’s strike.
None of them appear to have been directly hit by missiles or seriously damaged. There were no clear signs that soldiers lived there, nor were there any traces of bodies or traces of blood.
Several windows were smashed in Dormitory 47, which had a large sinkhole in its courtyard, Reuters reported.
Another building, named by the Russian Ministry of Defense, hostel No. 28, has been completely preserved. The funnel lay about 50 meters away, closer to some garages.
Authorities in Kyiv did not immediately comment on the strike or Russia’s claim of hundreds of casualties. Earlier, the mayor of Kramatorsk said that there were no casualties.
Earlier on Sunday, the head of the Donetsk regional administration Pavel Kirilenko said that the Russians launched seven missile attacks on Kramatorsk.
According to him, “an educational institution, an industrial facility and a garage cooperative” suffered, there were no casualties.
During the New Year attack, Ukraine hit a building in the occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Makiivka, which was used as a barracks.
Russia acknowledged that 89 military personnel were killed, the largest ever recorded casualty from a Ukrainian strike.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire to allow Orthodox Christians to celebrate Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7 in Russia and Ukraine.
The unilateral ceasefire ended at 23:00 Kyiv time on Saturday.
