89 Soldiers Killed As a result of the Ukrainian Attack, the Russian Ministry of Defense Called Its Troops Violating the Prohibition on the Use of Cellphones

Illustration of the Russian army in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru/men's

JAKARTA - The number of soldiers who died as a result of the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka, Donetsk during New Year's Eve became 89 people, with the Ministry of Defense highlighting the use of cell phones (mobile phones) by its troops.

"It is clear that the main reason for what happened was the activation and massive use - contrary to the prohibition - of mobile phone use by personnel in the enemy's weapons range zone," the ministry said in a statement.

"This factor allows the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the army's location for a missile strike," the ministry said.

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

The Defense Ministry said four rockets from US-made HIMARS launchers hit the building, adding that "as a result of the explosion of the HIMARS rocket warhead, the ceiling of the building collapsed."

The ministry added in its statement on the Telegram messaging app that a commission was investigating surrounding the attack.

The ministry also said, in retaliation, it launched an airstrike launched at "hardware concentration" near the Druzhkivka railway station in Donetsk, killing up to 200 Ukrainian personnel, destroying four HIMARS launchers and more than 800 rockets.

Meanwhile, Russian nationalist bloggers and some pro-Russian officials in the region put the death toll in Makiivka in the hundreds, although some said that estimate was an exaggeration.

The attack was another blow to President Vladimir Putin and what he called a "special military operation", to deter threats to Russia's security and to protect Russian speakers. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of carrying out an imperialist-style territorial grab for no reason.