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Moscow is blaming a deadly strike by Ukraine on its troops' unauthorized use of cell phones.

On Wednesday, Russia's defense ministry said the death toll from a Ukrainian strike in Makiivka had climbed higher than the 63 initially reported. And that a total of 89 bodies were found under the rubble of a temporary base.

This is the worst single reported loss from a Ukrainian strike to date.

And Ukraine’s strategic communications unit estimates that it is much higher than Russia is reporting. They estimate that nearly 400 Russian soldiers may have died.

Makiivka represents the heaviest losses reported by the Russian military in a single attack since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine. And the Russians have suffered heavy casualties which they rarely report.

 Unauthorized use of cell phones

It has been reported since March that mobile networks are now being weaponized with both Russia and Ukraine tracking soldiers' phones with drones.

And an animation that appeared on Twitter showing how it works. Devices called cell-site simulators mimic a phone mast. And are stationed inside drones and trucks. Once in the area of the battlefield, the simulators pick up the signals of nearby mobile phones

According to Sky news “Simulators trick the phones into connecting with several masts in a given area by measuring the strength and direction of the signal for each phone and mast.”

A Russian military commission is investigating what happened and promises to punish any "guilty" officials.

In a video address, Lieutenant General Sergei Sevryukov claims that it is likely that Russian troops use of cell phones is to blame. And that the cell phones were tracked and gave away the location of the base to Ukrainian forces.

But some critics have said the military is trying to shift the blame, and Russian military correspondents have accused commanders of incompetence.