Russia blames soldiers' cellphone use for attack
Unauthorised use of cellphones by Russian soldiers led to a deadly Ukrainian rocket attack on the facility where they were stationed, according to the Russian military, as it raised the death toll from the weekend attack to 89. Gen. Lt. Sergei Sevryukov said in a statement that phone signals allowed Kyiv's forces to “determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel” and launch a strike. The Russian military is taking unspecified measures to “prevent similar tragic incidents in the future,” Sevryukov said, and promised to punish officials responsible for the blunder. The attack, one of the deadliest on the Kremlin's forces since the start of the war over 10 months ago, occurred one minute into the new year, according to Sevryukov. Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a US-provided HIMARS multiple launch system at a building where the soldiers were stationed. Two rockets were downed but four hit the building and detonated, prompting the collapse of the structure. Details of the strike have trickled out in recent days. UK intelligence officials said on Wednesday that Moscow’s “unprofessional” military practices were likely partly to blame for the high casualty rate on the troops. “Given the extent of the damage, there is a realistic possibility that ammunition was being stored near to troop accommodation, which detonated during the strike, creating secondary explosions,” the UK Defence Ministry said in a Twitter post. (AP)