ISTANBUL

Russia said on Tuesday that two US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers were destroyed by Russian strikes near the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“During a counter-battery fight near the city of Kramatorsk, positions were opened and two launchers of the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems were destroyed,” a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry read.

The strikes came a day after a Ukrainian rocket strike killed at least 63 Russian soldiers at a Russian deployment area near the city of Makiivka in the Moscow-controlled part of the Donetsk region.​​​​​​​