Russian claims that it killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers in an attack have been labeled “propaganda” by the Ukrainian government.
Moscow claimed, without evidence, that more than 600 Ukrainian military were killed in Kramatorsk.
It claimed it was in response to an attack on Russian base by the Ukrainian military on New Year’s Day. Which resulted in the deaths of dozens of Russian servicemen.
In contrast, the Ukrainian armed forces deny this.
Ukrainian military spokeswoman Serhiy Cherevaty told the BBC, “This is another piece of Russian misinformation.”
Russia’s defense ministry said their airstrikes killed 600 Ukrainians in temporary housing. According to Moscow, about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers were billeted in two buildings.
The statement referred to the bombings as a “retaliatory strike” in response to the deaths of 89 Russian troops in Makiivka. Russian nationalists on social media have reported hundreds of deaths and injuries from that incident. Whereas Ukraine reports that figure to be closer to 400.
Moscow has not given proof that the Kramatorsk deaths were politically motivated.
The BBC was able to identify the locations of two sites approximately a mile apart in Kramatorsk by comparing pictures of the attack published by local officials to Google satellite data and other images online.
The dormitory numbers issued by Russia line up with the numbers of two nearby institutions (vocational schools 28 and 47). According to Moscow, the structures housed Ukrainian armed forces.
However, there is no visible proof that these two buildings were severely damaged or that as many people perished as Russia claims.
The Kremlin’s claims have been disproved by reports from the field.
We felt about seven explosions in the city of Kramatorsk practically soon after the Russian ceasefire broke, proving that it was anything but a truce.
The shaking windows finally convinced us to seek refuge. Before that, all we had heard were distant booms and a few sirens. The practically daily missile attacks on Kramatorsk resumed with this.
The ceasefire in Moscow had only slightly reduced tensions in the center, but this was not the case in the suburbs.
The mayor of the city where the explosions took place uploaded photos of the devastation online and stated that two schools, eight apartment buildings, and garages had been damaged.
contrary to Kremlin assertions, there were no known casualties.
After what Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed was a 36-hour ceasefire by Russian soldiers so Orthodox Christians may enjoy Christmas, shelling resumed in various locations of Ukraine overnight. There is evidence to imply that Moscow violated this “ceasefire.”
At least one person was killed, according to Ukrainian authorities, in the northeastern area of Kharkiv.
Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol, two cities in the south, also had explosions.
Russia’s defense ministry also reported that 50 Russian soldiers had been returned to them by Ukraine following negotiations. The same number of Russian soldiers were returned to Ukraine, as previously reported by Kyiv.