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| Russia Attacks Shipbuilding Factory Claims to Kill 500 Ukrainian Soldiers |
International Military - Russia's attack on Tuesday against a shipbuilding factory in the Ukrainian port of Nikolaev killed as many as 500 soldiers. That was the statement issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense during a daily press conference on Wednesday (22/6/2022).
Quoted from Russia Today, the troop belongs to the Ukrainian Army's 59th Mechanized Brigade, which is believed to be sheltering at the Okean Shipyard. The facility is located in the southern part of the Ukrainian city standing on a large river about 60 kilometers inland from the Black Sea.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its Air Force had used precision weapons to attack factory workshops, killing members of the Ukrainian military and destroying weapons and military vehicles.
Ukrainian sources reported several Russian cruise missile attacks targeting Nikolaev on Tuesday. "This attack caused damage to port infrastructure, industrial buildings and power lines, and destroyed several trucks," the Ukrainian military said. In the briefing, Russia also claimed to have destroyed the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade.
The report claims that the Ukrainian unit lost more than 60% of its strength during the fighting for territory claimed by the Moscow-allied Lugansk People's Republic. "The brigade fled from its position in disobedience to orders from its command to defend itself," the Russian military said.
Last week, the Russian military claimed to have killed a number of top Ukrainian officers after attacking a compound where a meeting of commanders of a number of Ukrainian units was taking place. Russia attacked its neighbor in late February, following Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreement, which was first signed in 2014, and ended in Moscow's recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
The protocol, brokered by Germany and France, was designed to give breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state. The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine formally declare itself a neutral nation that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists Russia's attack is completely unwarranted and denies claims it plans to retake the two republics by force.