Moscow Carries Out Retaliation Operation in Response to Kiev Strike on Makeevka

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In response to the Ukrainian attack on the city of Makeevka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian armed forces carried out a retaliation operation, killing more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Kramatorsk by a massive missile strike, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"Over the past day, Russian intelligence has discovered and reliably confirmed through several independent channels the temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian armed forces in the city of Kramatorsk. There were more than 700 Ukrainian servicemen in dormitory No. 28 and more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen in dormitory No. 47. As a result of a massive missile strike on these points of temporary deployment of units of the Ukrainian armed forces, more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen were destroyed," the ministry said.

Pada tanggal 1 Januari, pukul 00:01 waktu Moskow (21:01 Desember 31 GMT), artileri Ukraina menembakkan enam roket HIMARS ke titik penempatan sementara unit militer Rusia di area Makeevka, dengan dua roket dicegat oleh pertahanan udara, pertama kata Wakil Kepala Direktorat Utama Militer-Politik Angkatan Bersenjata Rusia, Letnan Jenderal Sergey Sevryukov. Empat roket menghantam gedung tempat prajurit Rusia ditempatkan, menewaskan 89 tentara.

Russian Special Op: World’s Most Powerful Mortar Wipes Out Ukrainian Army Targets - Video

Sputnik has obtained a unique video of a Russian 2S4 Tyulpan (Tulip) self-propelled heavy mortar carrier destroying one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ fortified positions during Moscow’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.

In the 34 second clip, powerful explosions are seen in the distance, which are the work of a 2S4 Tyulpan deployed by a drone operator of the Russian army’s First Slavic Brigade.

The Tyulpan is considered to be the most powerful self­-propelled mortars in the world; the 240 mm caliber explosive has a range of about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles).

At such a range, the Russian mortar is capable of obliterating fortified buildings, manpower and armed vehicles of a potential enemy.

Russia has been conducting its special military operation in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. The Russian army has been carrying out high-precision strikes, targeting Ukraine’s military infrastructure and doing its best to avoid unnecessary casualties among civilians.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the operation aims to protect people, “who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” Putin stressed that the ultimate goal of the operation is the liberation of eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region and the creation of conditions that guarantee the security of Russia itself.

At the disposal of RIA Novosti were footage of the work of the Russian "Grad" in the special operation zone.

The reconnaissance of the 1st Slavic brigade noticed the enemy's company stronghold in one of the forest belts, and after the transfer of data, it was decided to use the Grad to destroy the maximum territory of the defensive position. The footage shows that most of the missiles fall exactly on target.

Unique footage of a tank duel in the Donbass came into the possession of RIA Novosti. Three tanks of the ZVO of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation against two Ukrainian ones. In the footage, two tanks were used as "bait", while the third approached imperceptibly from the flank at a distance of less than 500 meters and opened fire on the enemy. As a result, the Ukrainian army has minus one vehicle.

Ukrainian Special Services Prepare Major Anti-Russia False Flag in Kharkov Region, MoD Says

The provocation will reportedly use dug-up and disfigured dead bodies from local cemeteries to accuse Russia of war crimes.

Kiev is organizing a large-scale false flag op using the bodies of naturally-deceased civilians to accuse Moscow of committing war crimes, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Sunday.

"The special services of Ukraine have prepared a new large-scale anti-Russian provocation aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and accusing Russian servicemen of allegedly committing war crimes," the statement said.

RIA Novosti has received unique footage of the defeat of one of the military units of the Ukrainian military by the world's most powerful self-propelled mortar 2S4 "Tulip" in the special operation zone.

The drone operator of the 1st Slavic Brigade corrects the fire with 240-millimeter projectiles, which are designed to destroy fortifications, large concentrations of equipment and enemy manpower. The footage shows precise hits on the target and volumetric explosions destroying the solid concrete fortifications of the Ukrainian military facility.

On the eve of Orthodox Christmas, representatives of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine led work to open graves in cemeteries in the villages of Kazachya Lopan, Veliky Burluk, Shipovatoye and Khatnoye in the Kharkov region, where local residents who died of natural causes were buried from February 24 to September 6, 2022, while the abovementioned settlements were controlled by the Russian forces.

The Defense Ministry clarified that "after the exhumation, the bodies of Ukrainian citizens were additionally disfigured and thrown into specially prepared "pits" on the outskirts of the abovementioned settlements to create a false "evidence base" of alleged "torture" and "executions" of civilians by Russian military personnel.

The ministry added that the representatives of the Ukrainian special services and law enforcement agencies are taking photos and recording videos of the exhumated bodies, and, in the presence of fake "witnesses", simulate the work of "forensic experts" and other "procedural actions."

"Unable to achieve any success on the battlefield, the Kiev regime uses these inhuman methods in attempt to retain attention of the western audience and convince its foreign partners to continue supporting it," the Defense Ministry said.

Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The combined group of troops has been observing a ceasefire along the entire line of contact in the area of the special military operation since 12 noon Moscow time on January 6. At the same time, the Kiev regime has continued to shell residential areas and Russian positions with artillery over the past 24 hours.

▪️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired 11 mortar shells at Russian positions in the Krasny Liman direction.

▪️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine opened artillery fire in the Zaporozhye region 31 times. In the Kherson and Krivoy Rog directions, the enemy launched 17 artillery attacks. Russian forces returned fire against all the AFU's positions from which the shelling took place, and suppressed them.

▪️ Two assault groups of the 80th and 95th airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were repulsed in the Krasny Liman direction.

▪️ One attempt by Armed Forces of Ukraine units from the 110th Mechanized and 79th Airborne Assault Brigades to attack Russian positions in the DPR was thwarted.

▪️ Anti-aircraft defenses destroyed four UAVs in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

▪️ Five Uragan and HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and one US-made HARM anti-radar missile were intercepted in the DPR.

▪️ Some 360 airplanes and 199 helicopters, 2,843 unmanned aerial vehicles, 400 air defense missile systems, 7,441 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 972 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 3,787 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 7,957 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.