Ukraine war news latest: Putin blames Russian troops for Makiivka missile strike as 89 dead In attack

In a video address on Tuesday, President Zelensky revised his warnings that Russia will launch a major offensive.

Zelensky said: “We have no doubt that Russia’s current masters will throw everything they have and everyone they can muster into trying to turn the tide of the war and at least delay its defeat.

“We must disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for it. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail.”

Ukraine’s state broadcaster Suspilne has reported an air alert in Kyiv.

Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim also reported an air alert in the area, posted on Telegram.

Ukraine has said 400 of its soldiers were killed and 300 others wounded in an attack on a recruit college in Makiivka, in the Donetsk region.

Putin blamed the illegal use of cellphones by his own soldiers for the deaths of 89 Russian soldiers in Ukrainian missile attacks over the weekend.

In a statement on Wednesday, Russia’s defense ministry said four Ukrainian missiles hit a temporary Russian barracks at a vocational training college in Makiivka, the twin city of the Russian-held regional capital Donetsk. in eastern Ukraine.

Russia had previously said 63 soldiers were killed in the attack over the weekend.

It is difficult to confirm exactly how many soldiers were killed, and it is rare for Moscow to confirm battlefield casualties.

Some 5,200 people used the Kyiv metro network as a shelter on New Year’s Eve during an airstrike.

The city authority said in a statement posted on Telegram: “On New Year’s Eve, during the airstrike, about 5,200 people, including almost 400 children, used subway stations as shelter.

“The metro infrastructure works 24 hours a day as a shelter and offers the most necessary conditions: drinking water, sanitary facilities and the possibility of recharging devices.”

The message continued, adding that people should “take care” and “use shelters during the air alert.”

Vladimir Putin has been accused of using the same people to pose in different roles during presidential photo opportunities as his war in Ukraine enters its eleventh month.

Ukraine and the EU will hold a summit on February 3 focused on discussing military and financial support, according to President Zelensky’s office.

AFP reports that President Zelensky discussed a high-level meeting in his first phone call of the year with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a statement said on Monday.

The statement said: “The parties discussed the expected results of the upcoming Ukraine-EU summit to be held on February 3 in Kyiv and agreed to intensify preparatory work.”

Ukraine has said the situation on the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut was particularly tough.

In a statement, General Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Russian forces have repeatedly tried to take Bakhmut and its surroundings, in some cases literally advancing over the dead bodies of their own soldiers, Reuters reported .

Writing on Telegram, the commander added that Ukrainian forces were standing by.

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to speak with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax, the latest in a series of talks the two men have held since the start of the war

Turkey acted as a mediator alongside the United Nations last year to broker a deal to allow grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports, but the chances of serious peace talks appear remote, especially as fighting continued anger

In his video address yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made no mention of the Ukrainian missile attack that hit a temporary Russian barracks at a vocational college in Makiivka .

“We have no doubt that Russia’s current masters will throw everything they have and everyone they can muster into trying to turn the tide of the war and at least delay their defeat,” he said.

“We must disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for it. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail.”

Russian nationalists and politicians are calling for the punishment of the military commanders responsible for the dozens of troops killed in a Ukrainian attack on New Year’s Eve.