At least 27 Russian soldiers were killed while attempting to retreat from their positions in the Donetsk region when Russian artillery fired upon their comrades.
The information was shared by Ukrainian member of parliament (MP) Yuriy Mysiagin in a Telegram message dated Sunday (September 10), saying that the Russian fighters "retreated to new positions chaotically and almost in a panic."
Mysiagin stated that Russian artillerymen assumed their troops were Ukrainians attempting to recapture its territory near the Donetsk airport, causing the friendly fire incident.
"The result was 27 dead and 34 wounded. Approximately half of the wounded had their arms or legs blown off," Mysiagin added. "Several pieces of equipment were lost."
This incident was the latest of many when Russian forces gunned down their own troops after a deputy battalion commander of Ukraine's 129th Territorial Defense Brigade told the New York Times that he saw Russian soldiers taking fire from their own side.
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Ukrainian Officials Confirm Russian Friendly Fire
The incident was also confirmed by a Ukrainian military officer named Col. Kostyantyn Mashovets, who said in a Facebook post on Sunday that the friendly fire likely kicked off because of poor coordination by the Russians.
"For some unknown reason, the enemy artillery began to fire, not near the front line or behind Ukrainian positions in order to suppress our firepower, but on the positions and rear of this unit," Mashovets said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not immediately responded to reporters' requests or comments.
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