MOSCOW – Moscow said on Sunday its army conducted a deadly retaliatory strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk to avenge the deaths of 89 Russian troops killed in Makiivka.

More than 600 Ukrainian servicemen were killed as a result of a strike on Kyiv troops stationed in two buildings in Kramatorsk used as barracks, the Russian defence ministry claimed in a statement, calling the attacks a retaliatory strike.

There was no immediate comment on the Russian claim from Ukraine.

If true, this would be the single largest loss of Ukrainian troops since Russia invaded on Feb 24 last year.

On Saturday, AFP journalists in Kramatorsk, which is located in the eastern region of Donetsk, heard at least four explosions before midnight.

Both countries marked Orthodox Christmas last Saturday.

The Russian defence ministry did not say when exactly the strike had taken place but said that Russian intelligence had over the past 24 hours confirmed the points of temporary deployment of Ukraines armed forces in Kramatorsk.

The ministry said it had used what it called reliable intelligence to target the Ukrainian troops, adding that more than 700 Ukrainian troops had been housed in one hostel and more than 600 in another.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional administration, said Russians launched seven rocket attacks on Kramatorsk.

He said that an educational institution, an industrial facility and a garage cooperative had been damaged and that there were no casualties.

In a New Years attack, Ukraine struck a building in the occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Makiivka being used as a barracks.

Russia conceded 89 troops had died, in what was the worst single reported loss from a Ukrainian strike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a 36-hour ceasefire to allow Orthodox Christians to mark Christmas which is celebrated on January 7 in Russia and Ukraine.

The unilateral ceasefire ended at 11pm in Kyiv last Saturday. AFP, REUTERS More On This Topic No surprise in Ukraines hard-hit Bakhmut as Putins ceasefire fails Moscow ends self-proclaimed ceasefire, vows to press ahead in Ukraine