Russia and Ukraine blamed each other on Friday for an explosion at a prison in Russian-occupied Donetsk that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, CNN and Reuters reported.
Russia says 40 were killed and 75 wounded, while a spokesman for the Russian-backed separatists put the death toll at 53. The prison held many of the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered after the months-long siege of Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks.
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The Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement claiming that the "Kyiv regime had deliberately carried out a bloody provocation" by striking the prison with a U.S.-made HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System). "[T]his blatant provocation was committed to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen and prevent them from being taken prisoner," the ministry alleged.
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