A Russian facility that served as an ammunition dump and, bizarrely, also as sleeping quarters was completely destroyed by a precision Ukrainian artillery strike.
The high-scoring attack, which was carried out by a HIMARS battery, reportedly happened in the mining town of Makiivka in the Donetsk region on New Year’s Eve. A total of six rockets were launched, four of which found their target.
According to the post-action report, over 400 Russian troops were blown to pieces or incinerated in the ensuing inferno. Or, according to Russian propaganda, because of ‘careless handling of heating devices.’ The sheer force of the explosion reduced the building to a smoldering pile of twisted metal peppered with charred bits of Russian uniforms. Most of the dead soldiers were newly conscripted young men who had just arrived at the front line.
Russian sources have admitted to the loss of 63 troops, which in reality means that the death toll was far, far higher.
The very fact that Russian officers thought it would be a good idea to put hundreds of bunk beds right next to hundreds of live shells offers a clear insight into the sheer incompetence of the Russian army’s commanders, particularly considering that officers would have known that the building was well within range of Ukrainian weaponry.
Speaking about the awesome power of the HIMARS platform, Ukrainian authorities mocked Russia’s commanders, whom they said haven’t yet grasped the capabilities of this US-supplied weapon, even after 11 months of failed military campaign.
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