The Russian armed forces carried out a retaliatory strike, killing more than 600 Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Kramatorsk launching a large-scale missile strike, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Sunday. 

The attack came in retaliation for Ukraine's assault on the Russian forces' temporary deployment facility in Makiivka, within the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

According to the MoD, "Over the past day, Russian intelligence has discovered and reliably confirmed through several independent channels the temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian armed forces in the city of Kramatorsk. There were more than 700 Ukrainian servicemen in dormitory No. 28 and more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen in dormitory No. 47. As a result of a massive missile strike on these points of temporary deployment of units of the Ukrainian armed forces, more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen were destroyed."

On January 1st, some 89 Russian soldiers were killed after the Ukrainian forces fired missiles on the temporary deployment facility of the Russian troops in Makiivka.

According to the MoD statement, at the time, Ukraine fired six HIMARS rockets at the area, with two of the missiles getting shot down by the Russian forces.

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