Ukraine says it has killed around 400 Russian soldiers in a rocket attack in the occupied Donetsk region.
The missile targeted a building in the town of Makiivka, where Russian forces were thought to be stationed.
The figure has not been verified. The pro-Russian authorities acknowledged the victims, but did not confirm the reported figures, BBC reports.
In Kiev, airstrikes were heard on Sunday night as the latest wave of drone and missile attacks from Russia continued.
Daniil Bezsonov, a senior Russian-backed official in the occupied parts of Donetsk, said the rocket hit Makiivka two minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day, KosovaPress reports.
“Vocational school was hit by the American Himars MLRS,” he said, referring to the US-supplied missiles.
“There were dead and wounded, the exact number is still unknown,” Bezsonov added in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
A number of Russian commentators and bloggers acknowledged the attack – but suggested the numbers were lower than claimed.
Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian presenter, wrote on Telegram that “losses were considerable… but not close to 400”.
According to the Ukrainian military, 300 people were wounded, in addition to about 400 killed.
The Russian-installed administration said at least 25 rockets were fired into the region overnight on New Year’s Eve.
A few hours after the strike in Makiivka, Kiev was attacked. A drone and missile attack targeted critical infrastructure, the regional governor of the Ukrainian capital, Oleksiy Kuleba, said.
A man in Kiev was injured by debris from a downed Russian drone, the capital’s mayor added.
This came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wished for victory and a “return to normalcy” for Ukraine in 2023.
In a New Year’s address on Russian TV, President Vladimir Putin said Russia will fight to defend its sovereignty and independence.
