Chilling photos show the aftermath of Ukrainian rocket strikes that annihilated at least 65 Russian soldiers in occupied Donetsk, where they had been ordered to line up in an open field for a commander’s inspection.
The images shared on social media show what appears to be dozens of men’s lifeless bodies dressed in military fatigues scattered in a muddy clearing in a wood.
Two to three US-made mobile rockets (HIMARS) were fired Tuesday morning at the training ground of Russia’s 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade stationed near the occupied village of Trudivske in the Southern Donetsk region, according to Russian military bloggers and a Ukrainian official.
Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for southern Ukraine’s volunteer army posted two videos on his Telegram channel that he said showed the “consequences” of the deadly attack.
The troops had gathered around 9 a.m. local time to await the arrival of Major General Oleg Moiseyev, the decorated commander of the 29th Army of the Eastern military region, who was scheduled to inspect the brigade.
“Our commanders had lined us up in an open field,” a soldier who survived the carnage said in a video obtained by the BBC’s Russian service.
In the end, Moiseev never made it for the inspection, reported Russian war correspondent Roman Saponkov on Telegram.
The popular military blog Rybar described the attack as a “tragic event,” pointedly adding that “the lack of common sense and flexibility of thinking in the ranks of senior officers is not surprising.”
Russian reporter Andrey Rudenko sarcastically warned commanders in a social media post that needlessly lining up military personnel “simply to show your own importance carries the very high probability of getting hit in what you call your head with a PC30 HIMARS.”
“Therefore take care of yourself and your subordinates!” he implored.
The HIMAR strikes occurred shortly before Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu met with President Vladimir Putin to crow about his forces’ capture of the strategically important town of Avdiivka.
“As for the overall situation in Avdiivka, this is an absolute success,” Putin told Shoigu. “I congratulate you. It needs to be built on.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has not commented on the troops’ slaughter in Donetsk.