Ukrainian forces claim 19 Russian soldiers killed in HIMARS strike on Olenivka
Nineteen Russian soldiers were killed in an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces when their unit was struck in Olenivka, Donetsk region, reported the Ukrainian General Staff on Thursday, February 29. The attack was carried out using multiple rocket launcher systems. According to Ukrainian military sources, among the 19 fatalities was a unit deputy commander, and a further 12 individuals were injured, including the commander.
The Russian Telegram channel "Spy Dossier," which was one of the first to report the Ukrainian strike, indicated that the personnel of the Russian155th Separate Marine Brigade were hit.
The former member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada and pro-Kremlin blogger Oleg Tsarev also spoke about the strike, discussing "another presentation of awards and another HIMARS rocket strike" against the Russian military, along with the "subsequent losses."
This is the third such strike within two weeks. On February 20, Ukrainian forces targeted a training ground near the village of Trudovske in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic using HIMARS missiles when Russian troops were present there. According to the publication Important Stories, 60 Russian soldiers were killed in that attack.
On February 21, the Ukrainian army carried out a HIMARS missile strike against Russian troops which gathered at a training ground near the village of Podo-Kalynivka in the Kherson region. Natalia Humenyuk, a representative of the Ukrainian Southern Defense Forces, stated that as a result, "at least 60 invaders will certainly not be returning to their combat positions."