Today, it was revealed that Russia suffered one of its biggest wartime casualties while Vladimir Putin was making his broadcast New Year’s message.
Minutes before midnight on December 31 and while Russian missiles and drones rained down on Kyiv, a Ukrainian HIMARs strike on a barracks in Russian-occupied Makiivka in the eastern Donbas region killed dozens and possibly hundreds of Putin’s mobilized forces.
Regarding the losses, contradictory allegations have been made. Ukraine’s military command estimates that up to 400 Russians have been killed and 300 wounded, while Moscow’s sources report lower numbers in the dozens but acknowledge a significant loss of life.
Initially, it was impossible to verify the opposing statements, but it is now evident from both sides that Putin has suffered a severe setback. This is the latest in a growing list of embarrassments experienced by Moscow’s soldiers since their invasion on February 24.
Minutes before midnight on December 31, dozens, if not hundreds, of Putin’s mobilized forces were killed by a Ukrainian HIMARs strike on a barracks in Russian-occupied Makiivka in the eastern Donbas region. Pictured: The aftermath of the strike is represented by rubble.
Pictured: On December 31, Russian president Vladimir Putin delivers his New Year’s address. As he did so, Ukraine reportedly launched a missile attack, killing hundreds of Russian soldiers.
The incident was known about on Sunday, but today both sides have disclosed the number of fatalities.
According to sources, Russian commanders were among those murdered.
Anatoly Shariy, a Ukrainian blogger staunchly supportive of the Kremlin, lamented: “There are SEVERAL HUNDRED murdered in Makiivka.”
He said sarcastically, “Someone clever put them all in one location.”
According to Russian pro-war sources, two HIMARs missiles struck the Makiivka barracks, while the Moscow-installed government of the Donetsk region in Ukraine reported on Sunday that at least 25 rockets were fired at the territory on New Year’s Eve night.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not reply quickly to a request for comment. It stated in its daily report on Sunday that it had destroyed seven HIMARS rockets, including in the Makiivka region.
A stunning video from the night of the attack shows a family preparing to enjoy a traditional New Year’s Eve meal while watching Putin’s message on a smartphone just minutes before midnight.
A woman on the balcony of her apartment building returns screaming in horror as an oncoming attack targets an adjacent structure, which was later revealed to be a vocational school that had been turned into barracks for Russian military.
A Ukrainian video from elsewhere shows a soldier wearing a Santa hat as a HIMARs missile is launched around the time of the Makiivka attack. Behind him, the HIMARs rocket system has been illuminated with Christmas lights.
A stunning video from the night of the attack shows a family preparing a traditional New Year’s Eve meal while watching Putin’s speech on a smartphone. As the attack struck its targets, a woman on a balcony fled back inside.
A video from another source depicts a Ukrainian soldier wearing a Santa hat while a HIMARs missile is fired around the time of the Makiivka attack. Behind him, the HIMARs rocket system has been decked with Christmas lights.
‘According to a variety of sources, 50 to 70 individuals are currently [dead]. The building has been fully demolished,’ stated a Grey Zone site affiliated with Putin friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, commander of the Wagner private force.
‘Of course, we are not discussing 500 to 600 fatalities; this is hostile propaganda.
However, there were still more than 100 people in the building, between 120 and 150.
Even our most optimistic channels describe losses evasively as “substantial, enormous, and hefty.”
According to another Russian version, the precise number of fatalities and injuries is still unknown.
The structure itself was severely damaged.
The deceased were reportedly mobilized Russian forces from the Saratov region who were stationed in Makiivka, in the Donetsk province seized by Moscow.
Additional film appears to show a woman’s body near a roadside in Makiivka.
Videos depict the complete damage of the school where the Russian mobilized forces were allegedly barricaded.
Image shows the aftermath of a HIMARs missile attack in the Russian-occupied city of Makiivka.
According to the Romanov Light channel, munitions was also detonated at the barracks, resulting in “such destruction.”
Boris Rozhin, a military blogger, described a significant number of dead and wounded.
Earlier reports indicated four fatalities and approximately fifty injuries.
According to the Ukrainian source Obozrevatel, HIMARS annihilated “hundreds of invaders.”
According to various estimates, there were between 150 and 700 occupants at the facility during the raid, the most of them were purportedly mobilized from Saratov.
According to the Strategic Committee of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 400 Russian servicemen were killed and a further 300 were injured.
Daniil Bezsonov, a prominent Russian-backed official in the Moscow-controlled portions of the Donetsk area, reported an attack on a vocational school that, according to initial reports, operated as military personnel quarters.
According to Bezsonov, the attack occurred two minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day.
The American MLRS HIMARS inflicted the vocational school a serious hit. The actual number of fatalities and injuries is yet unknown,’ Bezsonov added via the Telegram messaging program. The structure itself was severely damaged.
Image shows a HIMARs rocket system launching a missile (file photo)
Locals told Obozrevatel that Russian forces at the scene of the massacre said that senior leaders were among the victims.
The Russians were seeking for “traitors” who had divulged the barracks’ location.
Pro-war Russian sources criticized commanders fiercely for amassing so many men in a single location, making them an obvious target for attack.
The strike occurred within 185 kilometers of where Putin allegedly pre-recorded his New Year’s address with dozens of troops in the Rostov region of Russia.
Putin drank Russian Champagne with the army to celebrate the coming of 2023, after declaring in his yearly televised address to the Russian people that’moral and historical’ justice was on their side.
He argued that the West was using Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia.
A second video shows Russian soldiers departing Saratov in November.
According to reports, these new recruits were among those in the damaged barracks.
Christmas music and decorations are featured on the footage of the Ukrainian missile launch since Russians celebrate the holiday season when the clock strikes midnight on January 1, rather than on December 25.