TOP HEADLINES

· Russia said more than 60 soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike, the biggest loss of life reported by Moscow so far. Kyiv took responsibility for the strike, in the occupied city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine. READ MORE BELOW

· Ukraine said the Russian death toll was in the hundreds, though pro-Russian officials called that an exaggeration. The Russian defense ministry said Kyiv forces used U.S.-supplied Himars systems.

· Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the Makiivka strike. Russian military bloggers said the huge destruction was a result of storing ammunition in the same building as a barracks, despite commanders knowing it was within range of Ukrainian rockets.

· Ukraine said it had shot down all 39 drones Russia had fired in a third straight night of air strikes against civilian targets in the capital Kyiv and other cities.

· A Russian missile attack destroyed an ice arena in the town of Druzhkivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Ukraine's ice hockey federation said, following earlier reports of a missile hitting the town and injuring two people. 

· A Russian-backed military information center in the Donetsk region said there had been 69 Ukrainian attacks on the region, including Makiivka.

· Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was awaiting 2023's first tranche of European Union macrofinancial aid in January, after speaking to European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen.

· Japan's "anti-Russian course" makes peace treaty talks impossible, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in comments published by the state TASS news agency. Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War II hostilities.

· Europe's wholesale natural gas prices fell to their lowest level since Russia started its offensive in Ukraine, which had driven them to a record high last year, hitting €‎73 ($76) – 50 percent down from a month ago. 

IN DETAIL

Dozens of Russian soldiers killed in Ukrainian strike

Russia said more than 60 soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian strike on Russian-controlled territory in a New Year assault, the biggest loss of life reported by Moscow so far – while Kyiv claimed the death toll was in the hundreds.

Kyiv took responsibility for the strike, which took place in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka in eastern Ukraine.

In a rare announcement that followed criticism by Russian military correspondents, the defense ministry in Moscow said 63 Russian servicemen were killed "as a result of a strike by four missiles" in Makiivka.

The Russian ministry said U.S.-supplied Himars rocket systems had been used and the target was a temporary deployment point.

Late on Monday, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement that its forces were behind the strikes on Makiivka.

"Up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types were destroyed and damaged," the general staff said.

Earlier in the day, the strategic communications department of Ukraine's armed forces said nearly 400 Russian troops were killed in Makiivka.

The general staff, which usually communicates on such incidents, did not confirm the figure and said the human "losses" were still being established.