In its January 4 intelligence update, the British Defense Ministry says that the Russian barracks in Makiivka were completely destroyed since there is a “realistic possibility that ammunition was being stored near to troop accommodation, which detonated during the strike,” which highlights “how unprofessional practices contribute to Russia’s high casualty rate.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry raised the official figure of the death toll of the New Year’s Eve strike on the Russian army’s Makiivka barracks to 89, still reporting a lower number than Ukrainian and Russian sources suggest.
First Deputy Chief of the Russian army’s Main Military-Political Directorate, Lt-Gen Sergei Sevryukov, also said that among those killed in the Ukrainian attack on the Makiivka barracks was “the deputy commander of the regiment, lieutenant colonel Bachurin.” Russia’s Defense Ministry also blamed the use of banned mobile phones for the strike, shifting responsibility for the incident to its victims.
The British Defense Ministry tweeted:
- “On 31 December 2022, Ukraine struck a school building in the Russian-held town of Makiyivka near Donetsk city, which Russia had almost certainly taken over for military use. The building was completely destroyed and, as the Russian MoD confirmed, 89 Russian personnel were killed.”
- “Given the extent of the damage, there is a realistic possibility that ammunition was being stored near to troop accommodation, which detonated during the strike creating secondary explosions.”
- “The building was only 12.5km from the Avdiivka sector of front line, one of the most intensely contested areas of the conflict. The Russian military has a record of unsafe ammunition storage from well before the current war, but this incident highlights how unprofessional practices contribute to Russia’s high casualty rate.”
