Phone use led to attack, says Russia

Unauthorised use of mobile phones by Russian soldiers led to a Ukrainian rocket attack on the facility where they were stationed, the Russian military said, as UK officials condemned Russia’s “unprofessional” military practices.

General Lieutenant Sergei Sevryukov said that phone signals allowed Kyiv’s forces to “determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel” and launch a strike in the eastern Donetsk region, an area taken by Russia in 2014, but internationally recognised as Ukraine.

The attack, one of the most successful strikes on the Kremlin’s forces since the start of the war more than 10 months ago, occurred one minute into the new year, according to Sevryukov.

Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a US- provided Himars multiple launch system at a building “in the area of Makiivka” where the soldiers were stationed. Four hit the building and it collapsed, killing 89 Russian soldiers.

The Strategic Communications Directorate of Ukraine’s armed forces claimed on Sunday that around 400 mobilsed Russian soldiers were killed in a vocational school building in Makiivka and about 300 more were wounded.

UK intelligence officials said that Moscow’s “unprofessional” military practices were probably partly to blame for the high casualty rate.

“Given the extent of the damage, there is a realistic possibility that ammunition was being stored near to troop accommodation, which detonated during the strike, creating secondary explosions,” the Ministry of Defence said.

The MoD said the building was near Avdiivka in “one of the most contested areas of the conflict”.