Ukraine Strikes ‘Magically’ in Olenivka, Inflicting Dozens of Casualties

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a missile attack on Russian troops in Olenivka, in the Donetsk region, resulting in almost two dozen Russian casualties.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on the concentration of Russian troops in Olenivka, Donetsk region, with the help of Ukrainian rocket salvo systems,” the report of the AFU’s General Staff announced on Facebook.

The General Staff did not specify which Ukrainian rocket salvo systems were utilized.

Kyiv Post contacted Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense, for a comment. He emphasized that the weapons were not disclosed for security reasons, remarking: “But it was bright and magical!”

“According to preliminary information, enemy losses as a result of the strike: 19 dead Russian occupiers, in particular the deputy commander of the Russian military unit,” the General Staff reported in a statement.

Additionally, 12 Russian soldiers, including the commander of this unit, were wounded.

The AFU emphasized that Ukrainian troops continued to actively inflict losses on Russian forces, in terms of manpower and equipment, and exhaust the enemy along the entire front line.

Yusov, commenting on the attack on Olenivka, said that military intelligence on the ground is working to identify places where the enemy is concentrated.

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“In this situation, the operation was perfectly executed, the information was quickly used – and a significant blow was inflicted on the enemy,” the HUR spokesperson emphasized.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the AFU’s Southern Operational Command, announced on Feb. 22 that the AFU had attacked a training ground on the left bank of the Dnipro River near Kherson.

She referred to a video that the Ukrainian blogger DeepState had published on Feb. 21 evening, appearing to show a concentration of Russian troops near the village of Podo-Kalinovka being hit by artillery of some sort.

According to Humeniuk, the strike killed as many as 60 Russian service members of the 328th Airborne Assault Regiment, 810th Separate Guards Marine Brigade, but would not be drawn on what weapons had been used.

The BBC suggested that the strike was carried out by HIMARS missiles, a claim made on several social media sites. There were also suggestions that the Russian troops had been training for a renewed assault on the Krynky bridgehead at the time of the attack.

This marked the second attack on a group of Russian troops congregating in the open to be hit in just over 48 hours.

On Feb.21, many troops from the 36th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade had assembled on a training ground near Trudivske in the Donetsk region, waiting to be addressed by Maj. Gen. Oleg Moiseev, commander of the 29th Army of the Eastern District, when they were struck by cluster munitions from three HIMARS missiles, killing 68 soldiers.

The governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, from where most of the military personnel involved had originated, said that the claimed number of those killed was greatly exaggerated.