Ukraine kills ‘hundreds of Russian soldiers’ in attack on barracks during Putin’s New Year’s address

Russia just at the moment when Vladimir suffered one of the worst losses of the war Putin was delivering his televised New Year’s addresswas revealed today.

Dozens and possibly hundreds of Putin’s mobilized troops were killed in a Ukrainian HIMARS strike on the Russian-held Makiivka barracks in the eastern Donbass region minutes before midnight on December 31 and as Russian missiles and drones rained down on Kyiv.

There have been conflicting claims about the losses. Ukraine’s military command puts the Russian death toll at up to 400, with 300 wounded, while Moscow sources have suggested lower figures in the tens, but acknowledge the heavy loss of life.

The claims were initially impossible to verify, but it is clear from both sides that the Russian president has suffered a severe blow and is the latest in a growing list of humiliations suffered by Moscow’s military since the invasion began on February 24.

The incident was reported yesterday, but both sides revealed the extent of the deaths today.

According to reports, Russian commanders were also among those killed.

Staunchly pro-Kremlin Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy announced in horror: ‘SEVERAL HUNDREDS killed in Makiivka.’

He added mischievously: ‘Someone clever put them all together in one place.’

Russian military sources said two HIMARS missiles hit a barracks in Makiivka, while the Moscow-based administration of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said on Sunday that at least 25 missiles had been fired at the region overnight on New Year’s Eve.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In yesterday’s daily report, he claimed to have destroyed seven HIMARS missiles, including in the Makievka area.

A dramatic video posted online from the night of the attack shows a family watching Putin’s address on a smartphone as they prepare for a traditional New Year’s meal minutes before midnight.

A woman is on the balcony of her apartment block and comes back screaming in terror as an incoming attack targets a nearby building, later revealed to be a vocational school that has been turned into a barracks for Russian forces.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian video showed a soldier wearing a festive Santa hat during the launch of a HIMARS missile during the attack on Makiivka. The HIMARS missile system behind it is decorated with Christmas lights.

“According to many sources, we can talk about 50 to 70 people [dead] in this moment. The building is completely destroyed,” reported the Gray Zone newspaper, which is linked to Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army.

“Of course we are not talking about 500 to 600 dead, this is enemy propaganda. But there were still more than 100 people in the building, about 120 to 150. Even our most positive channels are describing the losses as “significant, large and heavy”.’

Another Russian statement said: “There were dead and wounded, the exact number is not yet known. The building itself was badly damaged.”

According to reports, the dead were mobilized Russian soldiers from the Saratov region who were stationed in Makiivka.

Several videos appear to show the body of a woman near the road in Makievka.

The videos highlight the complete destruction of the school premises, where the barracks of the Russian mobilized forces were said to be.

HIMARS – which stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System – is a US-made launcher capable of firing six guided missiles.

The Romanov Light channel said that the ammunition was also detonated in the barracks – “hence such destruction”.

Military blogger Boris Rozhin told of “a large number of dead and wounded”.

According to earlier reports, four were dead and around 50 were injured.

Ukrainian source Obozrevatel said HIMARS destroyed ‘hundreds of attackers’. “The number of dead is not yet known. According to various estimates, there were from 150 to 700 occupiers in the base during the attack, most of them were mobilized from Saratov.

‘According to the Strategic Committee of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 400 Russian soldiers were killed and about 300 wounded.’

Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Russian-backed official in Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, said the strike took place at a vocational school, which preliminary information said served as a residence for military personnel.

According to Bezsonov, the attack happened two minutes past midnight on New Year’s Day.

‘The American MLRS HIMARS dealt a huge blow to the vocational school. There were dead and wounded, the exact number is not yet known,” Bezsonov said on the Telegram messaging app. “The building itself was badly damaged.”

The observer claimed that high commanders were also among the dead. The Russians were looking for ‘traitors’ who revealed the location of the barracks.

Pro-pro-Russian sources angrily criticized the commanders for massing so many troops in one place, making them a clear target for the attack.

The attack was just 115 miles from where Putin was said to have pre-recorded a New Year’s message with dozens of troops in Russia’s Rostov region.

Putin sipped Russian champagne with soldiers to toast the arrival of 2023 after telling Russians in his annual televised address that “moral and historical” justice was on their side.

He argued that the West cynically used Ukraine and its people to weaken and divide Russia.

Another video shows mobilized Russian men leaving Saratov in November.

These new recruits are said to be among those in the affected barracks.

The Christmas music and decorations in the video of the Ukrainian missile launch are the result of Russians marking the festive season at midnight on New Year’s Day rather than on December 25.