Russia claims to have killed more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers in a rocket attack. According to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, it was an attack on two buildings in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. More than 700 Ukrainian soldiers were housed in one of the buildings, and more than 600 in the other.
According to eyewitnesses from the Archyde.com news agency, however, there was no evidence of high Ukrainian losses. There was damage, but there were no destroyed buildings or signs of death, an employee said more than the Archyde.com news agency on Sunday. Archyde.com reporters were able to inspect two dormitories that, according to Russian sources, had been temporarily occupied by Ukrainian soldiers during the night. None appeared to be directly hit or badly damaged. The mayor of Kramatorsk had previously said there were no casualties.
Craters and broken windows
There were no signs on site that soldiers had lived there and none that indicated dead bodies. There were also no traces of blood. Windows were broken in one dormitory, and a large crater was visible in the yard. The other building named by Russia was completely intact. But there was a gaping crater about 50 meters away near some garages.
According to Ukrainian sources, the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region were hit by rockets. The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said eight people were injured in the attacks and one person died.
Attacks were also reported on Zaporizhia and several towns in the Dnepropetrovsk region. On Sunday, the Ukrainian energy supplier DTEK also reported that a thermal power plant had been shot at on the orthodox Christmas night from January 6th to 7th. But the damage was quickly repaired.
On Thursday, Putin announced a unilateral ceasefire by the Russian armed forces, which was to apply until midnight from Saturday to Sunday (10:00 p.m. CET). Kyiv had described the announcement as propaganda. While the ceasefire was officially in effect, Moscow had admitted that it would continue to respond to Ukrainian attacks in the frontline.