Kyiv Denies Russia Killed 600 Ukrainian Troops
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/MOSCOW (Worthy News) – Wartorn Ukraine denied Sunday that Russia killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops in an attack.
Russia’s defense ministry said a “massive missile strike” in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kramatorsk had killed more than 600 Ukrainian forces.
It stressed that the strike on Kramatorsk was in “revenge” for Ukraine’s deadly New Year’s Day attack on a Russian barracks in Makiivka in part of the Donetsk region controlled by Moscow’s military.
The Ukrainian attack killed at least 89 Russian troops, though Kyiv gave higher figures.
And on Sunday, the Ukrainian military said it was “untrue” propaganda that Russia carried out a successful retaliatory strike.
Moscow was yet to offer proof of its claim about the Kramatorsk deaths.
Satellite and social images showed that the strikes could have happened near two school buildings – vocational schools number 28 and 47 – which match the dormitory numbers provided by Russia.
Moscow claimed the buildings were housing Ukrainian military personnel. However, Kyiv denies these sites suffered damage.
There was no visual evidence late Sunday showing these two buildings were badly hit or that there had been mass deaths on the scale claimed by Russia.
The reported violence underscored, however, mounting concerns that Europe’s most significant armed conflict since World War Two would drag on well into 2023.
At least tens of thousands of troops and civilians are believed to have been killed on both sides, with many more injured and millions displaced.