► The toll of the strike on Makiïvka rises to 89 dead according to Moscow
Russia admitted on Wednesday morning January 4 a heavier toll of the strike that targeted Russian soldiers on New Year’s Eve in Makiivka, eastern Ukraine. The initially announced death toll of 63 was revised upwards after the discovery of new bodies in the ruins of the building in Makiivka. It would now be 89 dead.
The Ukrainian general staff confirmed having carried out this strike and the strategic communications department of the Ukrainian army claimed a much heavier toll in the Russian ranks, amounting to 400 dead and 300 wounded. This assertion, however, has not been confirmed by the staff.
► The use of mobile phones questioned
According to Russian General Sergei Sevryukov, ” The main cause [de la frappe] is the switching on and massive use by personnel of mobile phones within range of enemy weapons, contrary to the prohibition”.
This announcement did not fail to provoke new criticism of the Russian military command, already castigated on Monday and Tuesday for its “incompetence” by Russian correspondents and commentators. The boss of the RT channel, the spearhead of the Kremlin’s international propaganda, Margarita Simonian, called for the names of the Russian officers involved to be made public and “the extent of their responsibility”.
“It’s not the mobile phones and their owners that are to blame, but the banal negligence of the commanders, who I’m sure didn’t even try to relocate the staff” out of the building, blasted the group “Notes from a Veteran” on Telegram, which has 200,000 subscribers.
► Macron told Zelensky that France would deliver light combat tanks to Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron announced to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday that France would deliver to Ukraine “light battle tanks”we learned from the Élysée.
“The president wanted to amplify this aid” military already brought to kyiv “by agreeing to deliver AMX-10 RC light combat tanks”said the French presidency. “This is the first time that tanks of Western design have been supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces”she said after a one-hour phone call between the two leaders.
► Fighting continues on the Ukrainian front
Russian General Sergei Sevryukov claimed that his forces had destroyed several Ukrainian missile launchers in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, and inflicted heavy casualties. Ukraine, for its part, reported one death and the destruction of an ice rink.
On the Ukrainian side, the general staff reported on Wednesday bombardments on Kramatorsk (east), Zaporijjia and Kherson (south). The presidency reported 5 dead and 13 wounded in Russian fire in 24 hours. For his part, the governor of the city of Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea, Maikhail Razvojayev, reported to him that the Russian fleet had repelled an attack by Ukrainian drones, two of which were shot down.