Ukrainian attack on Russian forces in Makiivka angers Russians and sparks barrage of criticism

(Patria) - Russia on Monday admitted that a large number of its soldiers were killed in one of the deadliest strikes in the Ukrainian war, leading to demands from Russian nationalist bloggers for commanders to be punished for housing soldiers next to a munition depot, Reuters reported.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 63 soldiers were killed in an explosion that destroyed a temporary barracks in a former school in Makiivka. It was stated that the location was hit by four missiles fired from an American HIMARS rocket launcher, claiming that two missiles were intercepted.

Kyiv claims that the number of dead in Russia is in the hundreds, although pro-Russian officials called it an exaggeration. Kyiv estimates 400 Russian soldiers killed and 300 wounded, the BBC reported.

Russian military bloggers wrote that the massive destruction was the result of storing ammunition in the same building as the barracks, despite commanders knowing it was within range of Ukrainian missiles.
Unverified footage posted online of the aftermath of the strike on the Russian barracks in Makiivka shows a huge building reduced to smoking ruins.

Criticism and calls for accountability

Igor Girkin (also known to us as Strelkov – a war dog who fought as a mercenary against Bosnia and Herzegovina and whose name is associated with crimes in Višegrad), former commander of pro-Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, and now one of the most prominent Russian nationalist military bloggers and critics of Russian policy towards Ukraine, said that hundreds were killed or wounded in the explosion. Ammunition was stored on-site, and military equipment was not camouflaged there, he added.

"Almost all military equipment that stood next to the building without any camouflage was also destroyed," he wrote on Telegram.

Another nationalist blogger, Rybar, said that about 70 soldiers were confirmed killed and more than 100 wounded.

"What happened in Makiivka is terrible," wrote Arkhangel Spetznaz Z, another Russian military blogger with over 700,000 followers on Telegram.

"Who came up with the idea to house people in large numbers in one building, where even a fool would understand that if they hit it with artillery, there would be many wounded or dead?" he wrote.

Open anger also spread to lawmakers.

Grigory Karasin, a member of the Russian Senate and former Deputy Foreign Minister, not only called for revenge against Ukraine and its NATO allies but also for a "precise internal analysis." Sergey Mironov, a parliamentarian and former chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, called for criminal responsibility for officials who "allowed the concentration of military personnel in an unprotected building" and "higher authorities who did not provide an adequate level of security."

"Obviously, neither intelligence, nor counter-intelligence, nor air defense worked properly," he stated in a post on Telegram.

Russia's admission of dozens of deaths in a single incident was almost unprecedented. Moscow rarely releases data on its casualties, and when it does, the numbers are usually low. For example, it admitted only the death of one sailor among the hundreds of crew members when Ukraine sank the Russian cruiser Moskva in April.

Russian media

Russian media reported on this attack, adhering to the narrative of the Moscow authorities, but with the open possibility that there were more casualties than reported. However, at this moment, there is no final number and evidence of the number of casualties. What is certain is that the Ukrainians precisely hit a large group of Russian soldiers who were housed near ammunition and weapons supplies. The strike on such locations could not have brought anything other than a terrible toll for those who were there.

Criticism on social networks is more frequent, and it seems that official Moscow cannot or will not completely stop it. As with past successful Russian operations, numerous people have spoken out and commented on the event, seeking answers and accountability from those in charge. Some of the fallen soldiers came to the front from the southwestern Russian region of Samara, the region's governor told Russian media, urging concerned relatives to contact local recruitment centers. "There are wounded, there are dead," said regional governor Dmitry Azarov, as reported by the state news agency TASS.