Russia claims it has bombed a city that Russian forces have targeted since the start of the war
Ukraine has described the Russian allegations, which referred to the deaths of hundreds of Ukrainian forces as a result of Russian shelling, as “propaganda”.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced, without providing any evidence, that it had launched “massive rocket attacks” on the eastern city of Kramatorsk, killing 600 Ukrainian soldiers, according to Reuters news agency.
Moscow said this attack was part of a Russian escalation in response to an attack launched by Ukrainian forces on Christmas Eve on Russian military barracks in the occupied Ukrainian territories, in which large numbers of Russian forces were killed.
But the Ukrainian military said Russia’s announcement was not true.
“We are facing a new act of Russian propaganda,” Serhiy Sherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military, told the BBC.
The Russian defense ministry said it killed more than 600 Ukrainian forces in shelling buildings used by the army as temporary residence for soldiers.
Two buildings in Kramatorsk are used by the Ukrainian forces as temporary headquarters for soldiers.
The ministry described those attacks as “reprisal attacks” aimed at responding to the killing of 89 Russian soldiers in Makeivka. However, the Ukrainian side confirms that around 400 Russian soldiers have been killed and wounded, while Russian nationalists on social media have estimated the number of victims of the Ukrainian shelling in the hundreds.
Russia has yet to present any evidence that it killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers.
A reporter from the French news agency confirmed hearing four explosions in the eastern Donetsk region before midnight last Saturday.
Separate parts of Ukraine also saw more bombing overnight after ending what Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas. But there is evidence that Russian forces have not respected that truce.
Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Explosions were also heard in the cities of Zaporizhia and Melitopol in western Ukraine.
Russia’s defense ministry said Ukraine had released 50 prisoners it had taken from Russian forces after negotiations, while Ukraine confirmed it had recovered an equal number of prisoners with Moscow.
The head of Kramatorsk local authority Pavlo Kirilnikov said earlier that Russian missiles targeting the city hit a school, a factory and a parking lot but caused no loss of life.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling of the Donetsk region has caused severe damage to two thermal power plants in the region, according to initial reports released by the Moscow-appointed Ukrainian governor, who also said the attack left several injured.
Serhiy Hayday, the governor of Luhansk, told Russian television on Sunday that the region has witnessed fierce fighting and the deployment of Russia’s best-trained combat forces and heavy military equipment in the town of Kremina, suggesting that this move it could mean that the Russians are slowly retreating into the region.
He added that the temperature in the region drops to between 15 and 17 degrees below zero, which leads to an increase in combat activities because the hard snow facilitates the movement of heavy equipment.
Reuters indicated that the sound of bullets was heard in the deserted streets of Bakhmut city but was unable to verify the source of those bullets.
