Russia attributes a deadly missile attack to the usage of cell phones by its soldiers

On Wednesday, the Russian defense ministry considerably increased the number of confirmed fatalities by attributing a lethal missile strike by Ukraine that it claimed killed 89 servicemen to the soldiers’ unauthorized use of mobile phones.

63 Russian servicemen were reportedly killed in the weekend attack, according to Moscow. The ministry’s response came as some Russian critics’ ire over what they perceive to be a lackluster effort in Ukraine became louder and louder.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not made any public comments on the attack, which was another blow following significant combat retreats in recent months, received less criticism on social media than military commanders.

The makeshift Russian barracks at a vocational college in Makiivka, the twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian defense ministry, was struck by four Ukrainian missiles.

Despite the fact that an official investigation has been opened, the ministry claimed that servicemen’s widespread unauthorized use of mobile phones was the primary cause of the attack.

In a statement released shortly after 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Tuesday), it claimed that “this factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers’ location for a missile strike.”

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, who rarely speaks about particular military operations by his country, said in a video speech on Tuesday that Russia was about to conduct a big offensive to boost its standing but made no mention of the attack.

In a video message, Zelenskiy stated, “We have no doubt that the current rulers of Russia will do all in their power to turn the tide of the war and at the very least postpone their loss.

We must interfere with this Russian scenario. We are getting ready for this. Terrorists must fall short. Any effort to implement their new onslaught must be unsuccessful,” he continued.

According to the Ukrainian military, a strike it carried out near Makiivka cost the Russians equipment and probably personnel. But it hasn’t provided any more information.

Though others claim that these estimates are inflated, Russian nationalist bloggers and certain pro-Russian officials in the area place the death toll at Makiivka in the hundreds.