Global Images Ukraine via Getty
Dozens of Russian troops have reportedly been killed as they stood in line in an open field awaiting the arrival of a top general in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Citing footage and photographs from the scene, the BBC’s Russian service reported Wednesday that up to 60 Russian troops were wiped out in the Ukrainian missile strike, which occurred Tuesday shortly before President Vladimir Putin and his defense minister gathered to boast of military victories in a televised meeting.
Members of several companies of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, based in the city of Borzya in the Zabaykalsky region, were said to have been hit in the reported HIMARS strike. A surviving soldier was quoted as lamenting that “commanders lined [them] up in an open field,” in footage cited by the BBC.