The Russian missile landed in front of the building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, although it was apparently empty.Image: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka
politics
The sting after the Ukrainian attack at Makiivka is deep in the Russians. So deep that they carried out a deadly retaliatory strike on Sunday night. At least that’s what they claim.
“600 Dead Ukrainian Soldiers”
More than 600 Ukrainians died in a massive Russian missile attack in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sunday. Two temporary bases in Kramatorsk, which had previously been discovered by the Russian secret service, were targeted.
“As a result of a massive rocket attack on these makeshift bases of the Ukrainian army, more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.”
Specifically, 700 soldiers are said to have stayed in dormitory number 28 and 600 soldiers in dormitory number 47. Almost half of all these soldiers are said to have been killed in the attack on the two buildings.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it was a retaliatory attack. A retaliatory strike for the Ukrainian attack on New Year’s Eve.
Vengeance for Makiivka
In the night of January 1, the Ukraine a building in the occupied city of Makiivka. According to Ukrainian sources, around 400 Russian soldiers died. Russia himself put the number of dead at 89. The information still cannot be independently verified. Yet: Although Russia’s figures are many times smaller, it is still one of the largest losses in a single war event since the beginning of the aggressive war.
Pictures of the building show how devastating this Ukrainian blow was:
The building where the Russian soldiers were staying has been leveled to the ground.Image: AP / Uncredited
Now Russia has taken revenge. At least that’s what they claim. Because: Similar pictures that would prove the success of their attack are searched in vain.
Intact buildings
It is much more likely to find images that expose Russia’s lies. Because the buildings in Kramatorsk mentioned by Russia definitely exist. But the problem from Russia’s point of view: They are still standing.
It’s not like they didn’t try, though. As Italian journalist Daniele Raineri put it Twitter writes, a crater in the ground indicates a Russian attack. This is located next to dormitory number 28, but has not touched any of the surrounding buildings.
A similar picture is offered by dormitory number 47. There is a large crater in front of the building. Apart from shattered windows, the building has remained largely undamaged.
Incidentally, there is no evidence that Ukrainian soldiers were actually in the buildings.
“A normal day”
Statements by the residents of Kramatorsk make it clear that the Russian attack cannot have taken place as claimed. Their houses would have shook in the night, they report to each other “Reuters”. In the vicinity of the eastern front, however, this is nothing unusual.
On the contrary. For them, the war has become frighteningly normal everyday life:
“There was an explosion and then another. The windows shook… Really, that’s all there is to say. Just a normal day.”
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko confirms that his city was shelled. Two educational institutions and eight residential buildings and garages were damaged, but no one died.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces also loudly denied it “Al Jazeera” the Russian retaliation. He only smiles wearily at the Russian claim: “This information is about as true as that which says that all of our HIMARS were destroyed.”
(saw/watson.ch)
Even if the year 2022 is slowly coming to an end, the war in Ukraine continues. Soldiers on both sides die there every day, as do civilians. Millions of people are fleeing. Get out of Ukraine somewhere safe.
