Russia Admits It Just Suffered its Worst Ever Loss

Russia this week admitted to its worst ever reported loss, after it said Ukraine forces struck a base in the occupied town of Makiivka in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed.

Russia's defense ministry said Monday that Ukraine rocket attacks one of its bases killed 63 soldiers.

The casualty count is the single largest incident loss Russia has recognized since President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine on February 24.

In a rare admission, the ministry said on its official Telegram channel that the Ukrainian military fired six rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launch system and that two of the missiles were shot down by air defense systems.

The HIMARS systems, provided to Ukraine by the U.S., have a longer range than other rockets in Ukraine's artillery, and have been credited with turning the tide of the war, and allowing Ukraine to better defend its territory against Russia.

"The relatives and friends of the dead servicemen will be provided with all the necessary assistance and support," the ministry said.

Ukrainian media meanwhile has estimated Russia's losses in the attack was in the hundreds.

Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian online newspaper, said the strike killed 400 soldiers with an additional 300 wounded.

The report cited Department of Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) for the figure.

Igor Girkin, a former Russian military commander, said on his Telegram channel that more than 200 Russians had been killed in the attack and many more may be buried in rubble.

Twitter user Dmitri of the War Translated project, an independent project concerned with translating various materials about the war, shared Girkin's Telegram posts.

"Girkin on Makiivka incident—hundreds of victims, many still under the rubble. The building where they were housed also contained an ammunition cache and vehicle storage, which is why the strike was so deadly," he wrote in a caption.

Newsweek has not been able to independently confirm the number of Russian casualties.

The Ukrainian strike on the base in Makiivka has generated "significant criticism of Russian military leadership," according to an assessment by the The Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Russian MoD is likely attempting to deflect the blame for its poor operational security (OPSEC) on to Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) officials and mobilised forces, but its vague acknowledgment of the strike nonetheless generated criticism towards the Russian military command," the U.S. think tank said in its latest report on the war.

"Such profound military failures will continue to complicate Putin's efforts to appease the Russian pro-war community and retain the dominant narrative in the domestic information space."

Ukraine's said late on Monday that up to 10 units of Russian military equipment "of various types" were destroyed as a result of the attack, but that Russian personnel losses were still being clarified.

Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry for comment.

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