Missile strike on barracks ‘kills 200 Russians’

Ukraine Himars attack is one of deadliest assaults on Putin’s troops, claims exiled mayor of Melitopol

A SALVO of Ukrainian Himars missiles fired against a Russian makeshift barracks has killed or wounded as many as 200 troops, Ukrainian officials claimed.

The volley of missiles was said to have struck a holiday resort commandeered as accommodation by Russian forces in the occupied city of Melitopol.

The attack came as Ukraine claimed to have also struck a hotel housing members of the notorious Wagner mercenaries. The missile strike in Kadiivka, Luhansk region, resulted in “significant” Russian losses, according to unverified claims from Kyiv.

Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Meiltopol, said the strike on Saturday evening had overwhelmed hospitals in the city, with casualties being ferried to Crimea.

He said about 200 Russian soldiers had been killed, which, if confirmed, would represent one of the deadliest Ukrainian strikes on Russian positions.

Video said to come from the scene showed rescuers in the blazing ruins of a building and what appeared to be several casualties among the debris.

The resort and hotel complex next to a church is reported to be called the Hunter’s Halt, and was said to have been used as a barracks.

At least four missiles are thought to have struck the city that has been occu- pied by Russian forces since March. Russian officials confirmed the missile strike, but gave far lower casualty tolls. Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russia-installed head of the Zaporizhzhia region, said Ukraine had used Us-supplied Himars long-range rocket launchers, to hit Melitopol at around 9pm. He said the attack had destroyed a “recreation centre” on the outskirts, killing two people and injured another 10.

Another Moscow-installed regional official, Vladimir Rogov, released a picture of a major fire ravaging the “recreation centre”. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine’s armed forces.

Melitopol is expected to be a key objective for Ukrainian forces as they try to sever a land corridor of occupied territory from Russia to Crimea.

Himars rocket launchers have become one of the Ukraine military’s most feared weapons. Kyiv has used the mobile launchers in strikes against ammunition dumps and command posts deep behind Russian lines.

Meanwhile, more than 1.5 million people in the southern Odesa region were without power after the latest wave of Russian drone attacks hit two energy facilities, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president said.