Russia: It was the troops' fault

Russia‘s defense ministry said on Wednesday that 89 servicemen were killed in the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, adding the main reason for the attack was unauthorized use of mobile phones by the troops.

“It is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the switching on and massive use— contrary to the prohibition—by personnel of mobile phones in a reach zone of enemy weapons,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers’ location for a missile strike.”

[Uh, sure … it wasn’t the fact that Russian commanders bivouaced an entire battalion in an easy-to-spot location in hostile territory, where residents could relay intel to Ukraine, within range of their artillery, and on top of a major ammunition deposit. It was the cell phones, tovarisch! — Ed]