Russian Officials Call for Revenge after Ukrainian Strike That Killed 63 Soldiers

By Staff, Agencies

Russian lawmakers called for “vengeance” after Ukraine fired US-supplied missiles at the regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, killing 63 Russian troops in the deadliest attack on Russian forces since the start of the Ukraine war.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the servicemen were killed in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka in Donetsk, which joined the Russian Federation through a referendum along with three other Ukrainian regions in September.

At least six US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems [HIMARS] were used in the deadliest attack, the ministry said. Two projectiles were intercepted by air defenses, but four made it through.

“As a result of a strike by four missiles with high-explosive warheads on a temporary deployment point, 63 Russian servicemen were killed,” Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.

The member of the Russian Senate and former deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin, demanded revenge against Ukraine and its US-led NATO supporters.

For his part, Sergei Mironov, a legislator and former chairman of the Senate, called on officials to further investigate and claim criminal liability for officials who "allowed the concentration of military personnel in an unprotected building", despite knowledge of the US-made HIMARS rocket range.

The Russian Defense Ministry said “four missiles with a high-explosive warhead” killed scores of Russian servicemen.

The footage posted online purportedly showed the building of the vocational college razed to the ground as a result of the attack.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry earlier condemned Washington for not only supplying sophisticated weapons to Kiev, but also providing the Ukrainian military with intelligence about the location of the Russian forces.

The two sides have in recent months exchanged hundreds of prisoners, despite a complete breakdown in broader diplomatic talks.