Kherson and Makiivka: two front-line reports from early January 2023
A look back at a missile strike in Kherson and a revised Russian casualty toll in Donetsk Oblast, as reported in the first days of the year.
What did the first days of 2023 show about the war in Ukraine's south and east? By 9 January 2023, two reports from the opening week stood out: a Russian strike in Kherson and a revised Russian death toll from Makiivka.
On 6 January 2023, a Russian missile struck near a fire station in Kherson. Regional official Yaroslav Yanushevych said it killed one person and injured four others.
The Makiivka toll
On 3 January 2023, the Russian defence ministry raised to 89 the number of its soldiers killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Makiivka, in Donetsk Oblast, on 31 December. The ministry attributed the casualties to the soldiers' use of mobile phones with tracking systems.
Later accounts described the strike in more detail. During the night of 31 December 2022 to 1 January 2023, Ukrainian forces hit the building of Professional Technical School No. 19 in Makiivka with HIMARS rockets. The building and nearby military equipment were destroyed. Ukrainian officials claimed 400 Russian troops had been killed, while Russian officials first confirmed 63 deaths before raising the figure to 89 two days later.
Two fronts, one picture
The two reports came from different parts of the front. In Kherson, a civilian-area strike left one person dead and four injured. In Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian strike produced a Russian military death toll that the Russian side revised upwards within days and explained by pointing to mobile phone use. The gap between the Ukrainian claim of 400 dead and the Russian figure of 89 remained.
