Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded to punish the commanders who are accused of ignoring the danger after the Ukrainians hit the Russian barracks, writes Reuters.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia has made an uncharacteristic announcement and admitted that 63 soldiers died in the New Year’s Eve attack. Critics of the army point out that the soldiers were housed next to an ammunition dump.
The Ukrainian side says that the number of dead in Makiivka is measured in the hundreds, although the pro-Russian forces say that this is an exaggeration.
Ukraine usually does not comment on strikes in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Russia, indignation has finally started to arise among the legislators as well. Russian Senate member Grigory Karasin not only demanded retaliation against Ukraine and its NATO allies but also called for a thorough internal investigation.
Andrey Medvedev, a representative of the Moscow municipality and pro-Kremlin journalist, said that the authorities, whether civilian or military, should value Russian lives. Medvedev wrote on the Telegram: «Either a person is of the highest value – and then punish for stupid losses of personnel, as for treason to the fatherland – or the country is over.»
After major losses in the second half of 2022, Russia is looking for salvation in merciless attacks on Ukrainian cities from the air. Ukraine has reported that all 39 drones launched by Russia in the night from the 2nd of January to the 3rd of January were shot down. As the officials commented, this means that this Russian strategy – to try to destroy civilian infrastructure from the air – is gradually exhausting itself. Kyiv, on the other hand, is strengthening its air defense capacity.
Russia still denies that it is intentionally threatening civilians, but almost a hundred Iranian-made drones have been launched into Ukraine right after the start of the new year. The President of Ukraine stated that practically all of them had been shot down. Zelensky said: «It is probably banking on exhaustion. Exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defences, our energy.»
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