ISW: Russian Defense Ministry criticized for fake 'retaliation operation' in Kramatorsk

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shared its report on Russia’s offensive campaign.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Russian troops have retaliated for the Ukrainian strike on December 31 on Russian positions in Makiivka causing further discontent in the Russian information space.

On January 8, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian forces conducted a "retaliatory operation" against Ukrainian troops in response to the strike on Makiivka, which killed up to 400 mobilized soldiers.

The Russian Ministry of Defense falsely claimed that the retaliatory strike was launched against several temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, which allegedly killed more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen.

This statement was denied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign journalists. Journalists visited the site of the strike in Kramatorsk and stated that it hit an empty school.

Several Russian military experts and bloggers reacted negatively to the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry, pointing out that the department often presents fake statements. The propagandists criticized the Russian military leadership for fabricating the story to "retaliate" for the strike on Makiivka instead of taking responsibility for the losses, experts say.

“The Russian MoD application of a grievance-and-retaliation framework to many of its operations has created a negative feedback loop with prominent members of the pro-war Russian information space,” ISW experts stress.

At the beginning of the massive campaign of strikes on Ukraine's critical infrastructure in October 2022, the Russian Defense Ministry used similar "retaliation" rhetoric against strikes on the Kerch Strait bridge and other Russian infrastructure.

“The Russian MoD partially used this framing to mollify escalated demands from the pro-war community to “avenge” Ukrainian actions but provoked an array of responses from milbloggers outlining other instances that the Russian MoD should equally “retaliate” for. The Russian MoD has thus created a negative feedback loop, wherein it attempts to respond to Ukrainian offensive successes…” the report says.

The reaction of the Russian Ministry of Defense to the strike on Makiivka once again opened an opportunity for strong criticism of the Russian military leadership regarding the conduct of the war, ISW adds.

• On the night of January 1, 2023, Ukrainian artillery struck the vocational school No. 19 in the temporarily occupied town of Makiivka, Donetsk region, which had been turned into a barracks by Russian soldiers.
• The Center for Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that due to a precise strike in Makiivka, about 400 mobilized Russian soldiers were killed, and about 300 more were injured.
• On January 2, the Russian Ministry of Defense acknowledged the death of 63 Russian servicemen in Makiivka. On January 4, the Russian Ministry raised the number of confirmed deaths to 89 servicemen.
• Vadym Skibitskyi, representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on the Russian barracks in Makiivka is part of the Ukrainian military's plan to prevent the Russian offensive.