2 killed in east Ukraine; Russia claims deadly barracks hit
Officials say at least two people were killed by fighting in eastern Ukraine as Russia has claimed it carried out deadly missile strikes on barracks used by Ukrainian troops
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Officials said at least two people were killed during fighting in eastern Ukraine, as Russia claimed Sunday that it carried out deadly missile strikes on barracks used by Ukrainian troops in the war.
Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said one person was killed in strikes on Bakhmut, and eight others in the region were wounded. He also reported rocket attacks on Kramatorsk and Konstantynivka.
In the Kharkiv region, the town of Merefa was hit during the night, killing one person and two other settlements in the region were shelled, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
The Russian military said missiles launched at Kramatorsk had struck barracks used by Ukrainian troops, killing 600 people. There was no comment from Ukrainian officials, and it wasn't immediately possible to independently verify it.
The claim comes almost a week after Ukraine forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing dozens of them in one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin’s forces since the war began more than 10 months ago.
Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the missile strikes were retaliation for Ukraine's attack in Makiivka, in which at least 89 Russian soldiers died.
“Over the past day, Russian intelligence means detected and reliably confirmed through various independent channels some temporary bases of Ukrainian servicemen in Kramatorsk," he said. "As a result of a massive rocket strike on these temporary bases of Ukrainian units, more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen were killed.”
The latest developments come after Russian forces ended a partially observed, unilateral cease-fire timed to coincide with Orthodox Christmas celebrations on Saturday.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine