MOSCOW: Russia said on Jan 4 that the use of cellphones by soldiers on New Year’s Eve had led to the deadly strike on Makiivka in eastern Ukraine, where the military suffered heavy losses.

“Currently, a commission is working to investigate the circumstances of what has happened,” Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov said in a video statement released by the Russian defence ministry early Wednesday.

“But it is already obvious that the main reason... was the turning on and massive use by personnel of mobile phones within reach of enemy weapons contrary to the ban,” he said.

 - AFP