Jan. 2 (UPI) — Sixty-three Russian soldiers were killed Monday in a missile strike on a town in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Dontesk, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Military officials said the strike happened in the town of Makiivka, located about 10 miles east of the regional capital of Donetsk, the state-run news agency TASS reported.
The Russians were struck at a temporary deployment point with missiles launched from U.S.-made HIMARS vehicles, the ministry said.
If corroborated, the incident could be one of the deadliest known incidents involving Russian troops so far during the nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier Monday, Ukraine’s air defense forces claimed to have destroyed 39 Russian Shahed drones, two Orlan-10s and a KH-59 guided air missile in overnight fighting.
“On the night of January 1-2, 2023, the Russian occupiers launched a massive attack with Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 kamikaze drones,” Ukrainian officials said.
“Due to combat work by the air defense of the Air Force in cooperation with the air defense of other elements of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, all 39 attack UAVs were destroyed,” they claimed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for further updates.
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