Was it only the use of mobile phones by the military that caused the missile strikeThe death toll as a result of a missile strike on the temporary accommodation of Russian units in Makeyevka on the night of January 1, reached 89 people, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
The building where the servicemen were staying collapsed. Correspondents of Izvestia were among the first to visit the scene of the tragedy and talked with eyewitnesses. The analysis of the rubble is still ongoing. The military department claims that the cause of the tragedy was the massive use of mobile phones on New Year's Eve. Experts point out that this is not the only factor: gross violations were committed during the deployment of units. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated by a specially created commission.
"The glasses started to fall down"
Several cranes, firefighters and emergency personnel are working on the football field near the vocational school building in Makeyevka. The analysis of the rubble continues. From the hit of the HIMARS MLRS, the building completely "folded", only the concrete skeleton of one wing remained. Even on the third day after the missile strike that the Ukrainian formations inflicted on New Year's Eve, the ruins are smoking and the acrid smell of explosives and fire spreads over the area around.
Residents of the city are already used to constant shelling. There is a feeling that this is commonplace for them — even under the incessant artillery cannonade, shops are open, and people are rushing about their business. Many were at home on New Year's Eve, and felt the blow on themselves. Larisa, a resident of a private sector vocational school located near the building, says that she is very worried about the soldiers — her son is also serving and is at the front.
— At 00.03 by my watch, I heard a rumble, the glasses began to fall, and then I saw a glow, — she recalls.
Consequences of the shelling of the vocational school building in Makeyevka
Image Source: Photo: TASS/Ivan Novyabrev
Then the residents heard screams from the technical school. There are no deaths among civilians, but many have lost windows, roofs, and some houses.
Firefighters and medics appeared at the scene of the shelling almost immediately. Therefore, the wounded received help as soon as possible. And as soon as the extinguishing of the fire was over, the dismantling of the rubble with the help of heavy construction equipment began. These works have not stopped until now.
According to local residents, the servicemen were inside most of the time, did not move around the neighborhood en masse, behaved quietly, did not attract attention.
Not everything was intercepted
On January 4, the Russian Defense Ministry told the details of a missile strike on a temporary deployment point of a Russian military unit. According to the ministry, on January 1, at 00:01 Moscow time, the VFU artillery fired six HIMARS MLRS rockets at Makeyevka. Two intercepted air defense systems on duty. However, four high-explosive shells hit the building of the former vocational school, where Russian servicemen were stationed. As a result of the explosions, ceilings collapsed in the building.
— Immediately after the tragedy, the command and officers of this military unit, junior commanders and military personnel of other units, took all available measures to rescue the victims. First aid was provided, the wounded were evacuated to medical institutions, — said the first deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov.
Photo: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency/Senior Airman Beaux Hebert
Image source: iz.ru
According to the Ministry of Defense, as of January 4, the number of dead servicemen was 89 people. Among them is the deputy commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Bachurin.
The MLRS launcher, from which they fired at Makeyevka, was destroyed by return fire, the department said. In addition, as a result of missile and air strikes on a cluster of military equipment near the Druzhkovka DPR railway station, four more HIMARS MLRS launchers, four RM-70 Vampire MLRS combat vehicles, more than 800 rockets to them, eight cars, as well as more than 200 militants and foreign mercenaries were destroyed. And in the area of Maslovka, the temporary deployment point of one of the units of the "Foreign Legion" was hit, where more than 130 foreign mercenaries were destroyed.
The investigation is being conducted
As stated in the Ministry of Defense, the circumstances of the tragedy are now being investigated by a special commission.
— But it is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the inclusion and mass use, contrary to the ban, by the personnel of mobile phones in the range of enemy weapons. This factor allowed the enemy to locate and determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel for a missile strike. Currently, the necessary measures are being taken to exclude such tragic incidents in the future," the Defense Ministry said.
According to the results of the investigation, the guilty officials will be brought to justice, the department assured.
Participants of the mourning rally on the Square of Glory in memory of the victims in Makeyevka, Samara, Russia, January 3, 2023
Image source: Photo: TASS/Albert Zen
The same version was expressed to Izvestia by retired KGB General Boris Kurdyumov.
— In general, mobile phones should be banned in the army, — he expressed his opinion. — They are calculated by them as two and two. Now every normal person has a mobile phone. Congratulations on the new year, mass calls began, and they were tracked.
However, according to military expert Vladislav Shurygin, mobile phone calls are not the only and not the main factor that led to the tragedy.
— Mobile phones, of course, reveal people. And the systems that detect mobile phones are operating on both sides constantly. But for some reason, for ten months of the operation of these systems, we have never had such large-scale losses, and now they have happened. And not because five hundred people had mobile phones in their pockets, but because gross miscalculations were made in the placement of personnel and in compliance with safety regulations.
According to the expert, the commission that is investigating the case should determine who is responsible for such mistakes.
Roman Kretsul
Dmitry Astrakhan
