The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that the use of cellphones by Russian troops was not the main reason for locating their positions in Makiivka, even saying that Moscow’s explanation “seems a little ridiculous,” according to CNN.

Big losses for the Russians after the military boarding school in Makiivka was hit by HIMARS on New Year’s DayPhoto: east2west news / WillWest News / Profimedia

“Of course, using phones with geolocation is a mistake. But it is clear that this version looks a little funny,” said Serhiy Tserevatiy, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday appeared to blame the soldiers themselves for the Ukrainian attack, saying that the “main cause” of the incident was the widespread use of mobile phones by Russian soldiers, “in defiance of the ban”, allowing Ukraine to determine the coordinates of the soldiers’ locations. Russia also revised its estimate of military deaths from 63 to 89.

Cherewati said that “placing such large groups of newly mobilized people — that is, not very trained, not very well coordinated — in large facilities that are not suitable for shelter in case of danger is a very weak justification.”

“Of course, this is a mistake [a rușilor] and I think they are now looking for the culprit. They blame each other,” he continued.

“Of course it is [utilizare a telefoanelor] it was not the main reason. The main reason was that they could not covertly deploy these personnel. And we took advantage of this, identifying the target and destroying it,” Cherevaty added.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, four HIMARS missiles were used during the shelling of Makiivka.

The Ukrainian military said that around 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the attack, but later added that this figure was “being verified”.

The leader of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” praised the bravery of Russian soldiers killed in a Ukrainian strike on the occupied city of Makiivka on Wednesday, even though the Russian Defense Ministry said the “main cause” of the attack was its soldiers using their mobile phones.

“We know from our own experience what it means to suffer losses. Based on the information that I have, I can say with confidence that there were many displays of courage and true heroism by the boys of this regiment!”, said Denys Pusilin in Telegram.