Russian ministry: Use of cellphones by troops ‘main reason’ for Makiivka losses

Workers clean rubbles after Ukrainian rocket strike in Makiivka, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Russia's defense ministry says 63 of its soldiers have been killed by a Ukrainian strike on a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where military personnel were stationed. — AP

MOSCOW: Russia said on Jan 4 that the use of cellphones by soldiers on New Year’s Eve had led to the deadly strike on Makiivka in eastern Ukraine, where the military suffered heavy losses.

“Currently, a commission is working to investigate the circumstances of what has happened,” Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov said in a video statement released by the Russian defence ministry early Wednesday.