Ukrainian rocket strike kills 19 Russian soldiers and injures 12 in Olenivka

Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike on a concentration of Russian troops in the occupied village of Olenivka, Donetsk region. 

Soldiers used multiple rocket launching systems, Rubryka reports, citing the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The report said the preliminary data indicated that 19 occupiers were killed, including the deputy commander of the unit.

The General Staff also reported that 12 aggressors, including the commander of this unit, were injured.

Strike against Russian occupiers

Yesterday evening, it became known that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had launched another strike on the formation of Russian soldiers near the front line.

The details of the incident were published by the Telegram channel "Spy Dossier," which often provides insights into the situation on the Russian side of the front. According to their information, the HIMARS rocket strike occurred on the evening of February 27 in the settlement of Olenivka, Donetsk region, when the occupiers' command was assembling soldiers from the 155th Separate Marine Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces for an award ceremony.

The deputy commander of the brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Kozhukhov, Major Aleksandr Abilov, and Captain Nayil Shakhmanov were killed. Brigade commander Mikhail Gudkov was allegedly injured.

This incident is at least the third successful strike in the last eight days. For example, the Ukrainian missile strike on February 20 at a training ground in the Donetsk region eliminated at least 68 soldiers of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade from Transbaikalia.

A strike was delivered to the training ground in the Oleshky Sands National Park in the Kherson region the next day. According to unofficial information, more than 30 Russian soldiers were killed there, and another three dozen were injured.

Losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine

Russia conceals the losses of its troops in the aggressive war against Ukraine. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, over 413,000 occupiers have been eliminated since the beginning of full-scale aggression.

British intelligence believes that Russian losses will increase in 2023. It may take Moscow up to ten years to restore a professional army.

Rubryka previously reported that the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence stated that Russia had found another way to replenish its army, recruiting mercenaries from Asian and African countries.

Russia recruits mercenaries for the war against Ukraine in Syria. They are issued Russian passports through an expedited procedure. The aggressor country has also enlisted 15,000 residents of Nepal into its army. This happened after the Russian government announced favorable conditions for service for foreign fighters joining the Russian army in 2023.

Moscow plans to continue replenishing the ranks of occupiers. Recently, Britain predicted that Putin plans to call up another 170,000 people for the war against Ukraine.