All around the world, people celebrate the night during New Year with festive and a feast. Smiles can be seen, laughter, and people gathering together with their loved ones.

And moments before the clock struck 12 midnight, people will begin the countdown, and the instant moment 2022 is yesterday, fireworks make the night bright, as if the stars have descended with big bangs.

People are happy, and that is a tradition celebrated worldwide, regardless of the language, the nationality, the religion, and their beliefs.

But no, not in parts of Russia and Ukraine.

When the world welcomes 2023 with peace, missiles fired from a U.S.-made HIMARS rocket system used by the Ukraine soldiers, hit a college for conscripts in Makiivka, in the occupied Donetsk area, shortly after midnight on 1 January, at 00:01 local time on New Year's day.

Six missiles were fired, and two were shot down. The remaining four killed at least 89 Russian soldiers when "the ceilings of the building collapsed" on them.

Ukraine claims the figure is far higher, saying that at least 400 soldiers were killed in the attack and a further 300 wounded.

Regardless, this is the largest death toll acknowledged by Russia in the war.

Russia welcomes New Year with sorrow and tears by family members of the deceased.

Among those who were killed, include the deputy commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Bachurin, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Telegram.

According to reports, the Russian government blamed the soldiers' use of phones, that allowed the enemy to locate their location.

It is "already obvious" that the main cause of the attack was the presence and "mass use" of mobile phones by troops in range of Ukrainian weapons, despite this being banned, Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

What makes smartphones "smart" is the array of sensors they have.

From the antenna to receive mobile coverage and internet connection, to GPS sensor to pinpoint users' exact location, and so forth.

"This factor allowed the enemy to locate and determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel for a missile strike."

A commission has been made to investigate this incident, and the soldiers found guilty in the investigation should be brought to justice.

Steps are also being taken to prevent similar events in future.

It is extremely rare for Moscow to confirm any battlefield casualties in that kind of statement.

The location in question was a vocational college, which was at the time, packed with conscripts.

The men there were among the 300,000 called up in Russian President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization in September 2022.

In other words, the place was temporary Russian barracks in Makiivka, the twin city of the Russian-occupied regional capital of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

After the missiles destroyed the location, ammunitions that were stored there were also reduced to rubbles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who rarely comments on specific Ukrainian military strikes, made no mention of the attack, but said that Russia is set to launch a major offensive attack.

"We have no doubt that current masters of Russia will throw everything they have left and everyone they can round up to try to turn the tide of the war and at least delay their defeat," Zelenskyy said in a video.

"We have to disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for this. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail," he continued.

HIMARS missiles aren't the only U.S.-made arsenal the Ukraine soldiers can use, because U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which includes a Patriot missile defense system.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal added that Kyiv is also expecting even more HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, when the U.S. Congress approves another package worth almost $45 billion.

While many countries are operators of the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems, HIMARS in Ukraine have been credited with "destroy(ing) Russian command nodes, tens of thousands of howitzer artillery rounds and a staggering 20 million small-arms rounds."

Responding to the attack, some Russian commentators and politicians accused the military for its incompetence, saying that troops should never have been given such vulnerable accommodation.

And according to Pavel Gubarev, a former leading official in Russia's proxy authority in Donetsk, putting such a large number of soldiers in one building was "criminal negligence".

"If no-one is punished for this, then it will only get worse," he warned.

The deputy speaker of Moscow's local parliament, Andrei Medvedev, responded by saying that it is predictable that the soldiers would be blamed rather than the commander who made the original decision to put so many of them in one place.

President Putin signed a decree on Tuesday for families of National Guard soldiers killed in service to be paid 5 million roubles (around $69,000).

Further reading: Ukraine Uses Cheap Android Tablets As A 'Defense Mapping Software' Against Russia