Coordinator of the pro-Russian underground, Sergey Lebedev, described how Russian intelligence identified the positions of two Ukrainian battalion tactical groups concealed in a tree belt near Kramatorsk.

He explained that the information was passed to Russian forces by local residents, who, according to him, openly expressed support and emphasized that no civilians were harmed in the subsequent strike. Lebedev referred to the Russian assault on the Ukrainian units as nothing short of a «beating.»

On August 22, Russian Aerospace Forces targeted the area with FAB-500 bombs, followed by kamikaze drones Geran and two missiles from the Iskander tactical system. The combined strike obliterated both Ukrainian battalion groups along with their equipment.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the attack killed more than six hundred Ukrainian servicemen. The destruction also included four multiple rocket launchers with crews and ammunition, three tanks, seven armored reconnaissance vehicles, 22 infantry fighting vehicles, 20 transport trucks, four electronic warfare stations, an ammunition depot, a command post, and ten personnel shelters.

Military blogger Alexey Voevoda argued that the decisive blow was made possible by a serious miscalculation of the Ukrainian command, which had concentrated both personnel and hardware in one location.