Neocons can celebrate for now. While it was dumb for Russia to house troops together like this, and the estimates of dead vs wounded is in dispute, this is highly likely to provoke a reciprocation which will dwarf casualties thus far. I honestly do not see how it cannot.
Further, if Russia can find, to its satisfaction, ANY NATO involvement in aiming or arming the weapons, I won't be surprised if Putin responds by targeting and killing NATO forces. Indeed, I expect if the evidence is reasonably strong, Putin will be obligated to do that.
I think both Davos and Xi Ping will be delighted to see the US drawn into WW3. What remains of the US (not much) cannot survive anything like another WW2. We are really, really, really weak in every sense.
Empires commonly end this way: bankrupt morally and fiscally, coming apart at the seams.
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http://www.zerohedge.com/military/huge-death-toll-after-us-supplied-himars-leveled-russian-barracks-donetsk-possibly
Huge Death Toll After US-Supplied Himars Leveled Russian Barracks In Donetsk, Possibly Hundreds Killed
Monday, Jan 02, 2023 - 02:15 PM
Russian forces have just suffered what may be their single biggest loss of the war in an attack, after a Ukrainian strike killed multiple dozens, or possibly hundreds, of newly mobilized troops in the east of the country. Moscow is now pointing to a US role in the devastating attack.
"Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that Ukrainian forces used a U.S.-supplied Himars rocket system to destroy a facility used as a base for mobilized troops in the city of Makiivka," The Wall Street Journal reports of the attack in Russian-occupied Donbas.
The leveled Russian troop facilities, described as a training school for conscripts, in Makiivka. RIA Novosti/Sputnik via AP
The defense ministry confirmed that 63 Russian troops died in the blast, saying that a wave of HIMARS rockets delivering "high-explosive warheads" struck the facility that housed the troops.
A statement by top Russian commanders carried in state-run TASS reads: "The Kiev regime delivered a strike firing six projectiles from the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher on a Russian unit near Makeyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The attack left 63 Russian service members killed."
Though only revealed for the first time Monday, the strike reportedly took place soon after midnight on Sunday, New Year's Day. Some Russian sources are suggesting an ammunition depot was next to the targeted facility, which likely resulted in a deadlier, expanded blast.Â
The Ukrainian side is meanwhile claiming the true numbers among the Russian dead is much higher, with the Ukrainian military asserting that some 400 were killed and other 300 wounded - though Kiev didn't directly take responsibility in the immediate aftermath.
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Beyond the issue of the disputed death toll, another question is whether the Ukrainians had targeting assistance from US intelligence.
Interestingly, Ukraine's defense ministry on the same day as the attack posted footage of what appears to be Himars system launching a strike in the dark.
Surprise! pic.twitter.com/R0gSLvm2LN
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 1, 2023
In the past months, mainstream US press has increasingly acknowledged that the Ukrainians are receiving direct battlefield targeting help, based on the admissions of anonymous Pentagon and US intelligence officials.Â
However, there's currently no confirmation or clear evidence that US-supplied HIMARS were indeed used, as the Russians allege. But the fact that the facility struck was significantly behind the front lines may point to a longer range weapon being used, such as has been supplied by Western powers. Ukraine also seems to now be openly boasting of its US-supplied capabilities in the wake of the mass casualty attack on Makiivka.
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