Russia says 89 killed in Makiivka, blames mobile phones

STORY: The strike just after midnight on New Year's Day on a school that was converted into military quarters in Makiivka has spurred anger among Russian nationalists and some lawmakers, questioning the military strategy used there. Russia previously said 63 Russian soldiers were killed.

The defence ministry said four rockets from the U.S.-made HIMARS launchers hit the building, adding that "from the detonation of the warheads of the HIMARS rockets, the ceilings of the building collapsed."

The ministry added in its statement on the Telegram messaging app that a commission is investigating the circumstances of the attack.

The ministry also suggested that in return, it launched air strikes launched at a "hardware concentration" near Druzhkivka railway station in Donetsk, killing up to 200 Ukrainian personnel, and destroying four HIMARS launchers and more than 800 rockets.