Ukraine Missile Strike Kills 65 Russian Soldiers Standing in Formation on Front Lines Training Area

Ukraine launched a long-range missile strike on a Russian infantry unit drawn up in parade formation as they waited for a top Kremlin-appointed general and other high-ranking officials.

Knewz.com has learned that the HIMARS-launched missiles struck a training area east of the Kremlin-occupied city of Volnovakha in Ukraine on Tuesday, February 20.

Ukraine unleashed devastation on Russian troops using HIMARS-launched M2 missiles. By: MEGA

The long-range missile strike from Ukraine, which Russian military bloggers have claimed used United States-made M2 precision-guided missiles loaded with cluster munitions, reportedly left around 65 soldiers dead.

The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN cited an excerpt from a report from a Russian milblogger which read, “In Trudovskoye (Volnovakha district, DPR) the formation of HF06705 fighters was organized at one of the training grounds, they were waiting for the big boss (We are finding out which one), the enemy hit with cluster munitions, as a result of which 65 people died.”

“65 lives, 65 guys will not return home alive because of the whim of the headquarters, and this is only in the morning, now the figure is probably different,” the excerpt further read. Some unconfirmed reports claimed that the missile strike left at least 300 personnel wounded.

Rybar, a milblogger on Telegram linked to the Russian Defense Ministry described the HIMARS missile strike as a “tragic event,” according to Newsweek.

The missile strike reportedly left around 65 troops dead and around 300 wounded. By: Lockheed Martin

“The issue of formations of personnel in zones where the enemy is conducting active reconnaissance and where crowded people can become targets for high-precision munitions remains relevant,” the Telegram channel wrote.

The training area near the village of Trudivske has been used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine for training since the mid-2010s. In 2022, advancing Russian troops captured the area as part of the Russian invasion.

Kyiv Post reported that the troops in formation were waiting “to receive a ceremonial inspection by Maj. Gen. Oleg Moiseev, area commander and top officer in Russia’s 29th Army.”

“Some reports identified the unit purportedly struck as a battalion from the 39th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, a regular Russian army unit based on the Far Eastern island of Sakhalin. More accounts said the formation hit in the attack was made up of members of 36th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, a unit drawn from Russia’s east Siberian Zabaikal territory,” the news outlet further reported.

The training area near the village of Trudivske has been used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine for training since the mid-2010s. By: MEGA

Citing reports from another Telegram channel named Russia No Context, Kyiv Post reported that one of the most senior officers killed in the HIMARS-launched missile strike was Colonel G. Musaev, the commander of the 36th Motor Rifle.

As of now, neither Ukraine nor Russia has officially commented on the missile strike.

“Volnovakha and Trudivske are in Russian-controlled territory in south Donetsk, to the southeast of the embattled town of Vuhledar, and the frontlines sweeping from Donetsk to the southern Zaporizhzhia region,” Newsweek noted, adding that Moscow is yet to gain complete control over the regions.

Given the location of the training area, it could be said that Tuesday’s long-range missile strike was a bid to keep Russian forces from further encroaching on the region, as Ukraine suffered the recent loss of a significant front: Avdiivka.

Although the Ukrainian Armed Forces put up a good fight in the region, the military chief in charge of the Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka had to order a complete retreat from the war-torn region on Saturday, February 17.

Ukraine troops had to withdraw from Avdiivka. By: MEGA

Oleksandr Syrsky, the chief of the Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka, announced the decision on his official Telegram channel, saying that the life of military personnel “is of the highest value.”

“Based on the operational situation around Avdiyivka, to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen, I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense on more favorable lines,” Commander Syrsky announced on Telegram.

“Our soldiers honorably fulfilled their military duty, did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment,” he added. The military chief said that the Ukrainian armed forces are currently taking measures to try and stabilize the situation in Avdiivka and maintain military positions.