Russia blames ‘massive,’ illicit cellphone usage by its troops for Ukraine strike that killed 89

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that 89 service members were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Makiivka in the Moscow-held region of Donetsk region, adding that the main reason for the attack was the unauthorized use of cellphones by troops.

“It has become clear that the main cause of the incident is the activation and large-scale use – contrary to prohibition – by mobile phone personnel in the range zone of enemy weapons,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This factor allows the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldier’s location for missile strikes.”

The attack just after midnight on New Year’s Day – at a school converted into a military base in Makiivka – sparked outrage among Russian nationalists and some lawmakers, questioning the military strategy being used there. Russia previously said 63 of its soldiers were killed.

The Defense Ministry said four rockets from US-made HIMARS launchers hit the building, adding that “from the detonation of the HIMARS rocket warhead, the ceiling of the building collapsed.”

The ministry added in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that a commission is investigating the circumstances of the attack.

The ministry also suggested that in return, it launched an air strike on a “concentration of hardware” near the Druzhkivka railway station in Donetsk, which killed up to 200 Ukrainian personnel, and destroyed four HIMARS launchers and more than 800 rockets.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, assistant to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Tuesday that two people were injured in the attack in Druzhkivka, which destroyed the hockey arena.