Russian Defense Ministry confirms strikes on Druzhkivka hockey arena

The Russian Ministry of Defense has acknowledged the missile strike on Druzhkivka, a city in the Russian-annexed Donetsk region of Ukraine.

In a January 3 press briefing, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that two HIMARS rocket launchers, four RM-70 Vampire rocket launchers, over 800 rockets for them, and six vehicles were destroyed, as a result of missile and air strikes on the alleged “accumulation of military equipment” near the Druzhkivka railway station. Konashenkov also stated that 120 Ukrainian army personnel had been killed in the strikes.

On the night of January 2, Ukrainian authorities reported that the Altair ice arena, the home of the Donbas hockey club, had been destroyed by Russian shelling.

While the pro-Kremlin Telegram channels have claimed that the arena served as a makeshift military base and ammunitions depot, the Ukrainian Radio Svoboda reports that, in fact, it was being used for storing humanitarian supplies.

According to the Ukrainian President’s Office, two people have been injured in the strikes.

In wartime, new military information may not always be reliable, even when released by official sources. Please consider it critically.