Several people were killed and others injured in an attack launched by Kiev forces on a Russian "military barrack" in the Ukrainian city of Makiivka in the Donetsk region occupied by Moscow forces.
Hundreds of Russian soldiers are reported to have died, according to Ukrainian media, while pro-Russian officials have indicated that the number of victims is still unknown.
According to the Moscow-appointed Donetsk region administration, on New Year's Eve at least 25 Himars missiles were fired at the region and at least 15 people were injured in Makiivka. But the British newspaper Guardian, the first to break the news, speaks of "conflicting news" and then quotes the governor of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk, installed by Moscow, Denis Pushilin, according to which Russian air defense systems have intercepted numerous Ukrainian missiles.
Subsequently, the pro-Russian mayor of Donetsk - Alexey Kulemzin - said that a "building of the children's and youth recreation center" was damaged in the attacks in Makiivka. For his part, the first deputy information minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, Daniil Bezsonov, said there had been a "massive" attack on a vocational school, which according to preliminary information cited by international media served as "housing for military personnel".
(Unioneonline/lf)
