A state of resentment and anger prevailed in Moscow after Russia admitted on Monday that a large number of its soldiers had been killed in a missile strike in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow announced its plans to introduce a strategic weapon into the war.

And in the largest announced death toll for Russia in one day since the beginning of the war on February 24 of last year, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that 63 of its soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian bombing of a Russian assembly point in the Donetsk region of the Donbass region (eastern Ukraine).

The ministry said that the site was targeted by four US-made HIMARS missiles, and a spokesman for the Ukrainian General Staff announced that his forces were responsible for the attack.

The Ukrainian army reported that nearly 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the attack, and one of the first leaders of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine estimated the number of dead and wounded in the hundreds.

Anger and demand accountability

Because of this strike, the Russian military leadership faced criticism and accusations of negligence by politicians and activists against the military leaders.

Russian military bloggers said that the massive destruction was the result of storing the ammunition in the same building as the military barracks, although the commanders knew that it was in the range of Ukrainian missiles, which is the same position issued by the former separatist commander in eastern Ukraine Igor Strelkov.

Former President of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of Parliament) Sergey Mironov demanded criminal accountability for officials who "allowed soldiers to be piled up in an unprotected building, and for all higher authorities who did not provide the proper level of security."

Member of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of the Russian parliament) and former deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin also called for "strict internal scrutiny" and retaliation against Ukraine and its backers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).


Strategic weapon

And while the battles continue in eastern and southern Ukraine, the commander of long-range aviation in the Russian Air and Space Forces, Lieutenant General Sergey Kobilash, said that planes carrying strategic missiles will participate this year in the "special military operation", which is the name that Moscow gives to its military operations in Ukraine.

Russia Today quoted Kobilash as saying that during the current year's pilot training, the focus will be on improving the skills of using weapons and automatic command and guidance systems.

The Russian military commander said that the elements of the majority of the long-range aviation crews of the Russian Air and Aerospace Forces received combat experience during the special military operation.

And last July, Russia conducted tests over the Arctic of its mighty strategic bomber, the Tu-160, or the "White Swan", which is described as the most dangerous strategic bomber since Soviet times until today, and it flew its time in the air for 7 hours and was accompanied by MiG fighters. 31".

In a related context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed information that Russia is planning long-term attacks on his country through drones.

Zelinsky stressed the importance of the gains and successes achieved by his country on the fronts and services, no matter how small, as he put it.

Kyiv said that its Ukrainian air defenses shot down 41 marches in one day (Reuters)

prolonged attacks

Meanwhile, Russian forces targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions with drones for the third day in a row.

The Ukrainian army said that the capital Kyiv and other provinces were subjected to a new wave of Russian attacks with dozens of Iranian-made "Shahid" drones, and that the Ukrainian air defenses shot down 41 marches, including 22 in Kyiv airspace.

The capital authorities have announced power outages as a result of targeting the infrastructure.

In Donbass, in the east of the country, the Al-Jazeera correspondent said that a large explosion shook the city of Droshkivka in the Donetsk region as a result of a missile falling on an area near the train station in the city, which resulted in great damage to the surrounding houses and led to a fire in the place.