Russian soldiers killed by Ukrainian attack in Makiivka betrayed by their cell phones?

A bombardment and interrogations. On Sunday, in the first minutes of 2023, a Ukrainian attack on the Donetsk region town of Makiivka killed at least 89 Russian soldiers, the biggest loss for Moscow since the start of the conflict, on February 24, 2022. .

The day after the attack, the Russian authorities acknowledged the losses, but the initial death toll of 63 has since risen.

new year wishes

In a statement published this Wednesday by Telegram of the Russian Defense Ministry, General Sergei Sevrioukov indicates that, for the moment, “a commission is investigating the circumstances” of this attack. However, according to him, the very behavior of the Russian soldiers allowed the Ukrainian drones to pinpoint their location.

“But it is already clear that the main cause (…) is the ignition and massive use by personnel of mobile phones within reach of enemy weapons, against the prohibition,” explains the general. On this New Year’s Eve, many Russian soldiers would have sought to reunite with their families.

“This factor allowed the enemy to locate and determine the location coordinates of military personnel for a missile attack,” he adds.

The press release also indicates that those found guilty in the investigation will be brought to justice and that steps have been taken to prevent similar events from happening again.

Building too vulnerable?

The announcement of this strike sparked anger on the Russian side, where many citizens are demanding justice. While Vladimir Putin has not officially reacted to the event, many political figures have publicly expressed their anger.

“Ten months after the start of the war, it is dangerous and criminal to consider the enemy an imbecile who does not see anything,” Andrey Medvedev, vice-president of the Moscow City Legislative Assembly, launched for example.

Especially since the use of phones could not be the only reason for this disastrous record on the Russian side. As explained by the BBC, the victims, who were part of the 300,000 summoned for the partial mobilization wanted by Putin, were housed in a vocational training school, a vulnerable building located near an ammunition warehouse.

For its part, the strategic communications department of the Ukrainian armed forces has meanwhile claimed that nearly 400 Russian soldiers have been killed in Makiivka.