Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: What we know on day 315 of the invasion

 

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: What we know on day 315 of the invasion

 

Russia says 89 killed in Makiivka, blames unauthorised use of mobile phones; UK Mod says ‘unprofessional practices contribute to Russia’s high casualty rate’

 

Martin Belam

Wed 4 Jan 2023 11.07 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/04/russia-ukraine-war-at-a-glance-what-we-know-on-day-315-of-the-invasion

 

• Russia’s defence ministry on Wednesday blamed the illegal use of mobile phones by its soldiers for a deadly Ukrainian missile strike that it said killed 89 servicemen, raising the reported death toll significantly. Moscow previously said 63 Russian soldiers were killed in the weekend strike on Makiivka. Although an official investigation has been launched, the main reason for the attack was clearly the illegal mass use of mobile phones by servicemen, the ministry said. “This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers’ location for a missile strike,” it said in a statement issued just after 1:00 am in Moscow on Wednesday.
• The UK’s Ministry of Defence, in its daily intelligence briefing, said “Given the extent of the damage, there is a realistic possibility that ammunition was being stored near to troop accommodation, which detonated during the strike creating secondary explosions. The Russian military has a record of unsafe ammunition storage from well before the current war, but this incident highlights how unprofessional practices contribute to Russia’s high casualty rate.”
• Denis Pushilin, who acts as the leader of pro-Russian occupiers in Donetsk, has praised the bravery of the soldiers who survived the attack. RIA quotes him saying: “We know, and we know first-hand, what it is to bear losses. And what real heroism is. Based on the information that I have, I can say with confidence that the guys from this regiment had many manifestations of courage and real heroism.”
• In a message posted to Facebook, Ukraine’s navy has claimed that Russia has three combat-ready ships in action in the Black Sea, and that it continues to “violate the international convention for the protection of human life at sea 1974 (Solas), disabling auto identification systems on civilian vessels in the Azov Sea.”
• There are unconfirmed reports that air defence was activated twice in the Sevastopol region overnight as a result of drone activity by Ukrainian forces.
• The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, used his video address on Tuesday to reiterate warnings that Russia is set to launch a major offensive to improve its fortunes. “We have no doubt that current masters of Russia will throw everything they have left and everyone they can round up to try to turn the tide of the war and at least delay their defeat,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.
• Ukraine and the EU will hold a summit in Kyiv on 3 February to discuss financial and military support, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said, but the bloc on Tuesday would not confirm the location, AFP reports.
• The US president, Joe Biden, will hold talks with Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, at the White House on 13 January to discuss North Korea, Ukraine, China’s tensions with Taiwan, and a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, the White House said on Tuesday.