Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and head of government of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Vitaly Khochenko were injured Wednesday when Ukrainian forces bombed a hotel on the outskirts of the regional capital of the same name, Russian news agencies reported.

The Donetsk region, controlled by pro-Russian forces and the Russian military, is part of the industrial region known as Donbass and is at the center of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Mr. Rogozin, former head of the Russian Space Agency, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Russian Ambassador to the UN, and founder of a far-right political party, advises on military matters in two Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, announced by Moscow. this year he joined.

His associate, quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS, assured him that his life was not in danger.

The fact that Mr. Khochenko was wounded was confirmed by his representative to Russian news agencies.

According to sources from Russian news agencies, the hotel was bombed with high-precision weapons. The Russian parliamentarian, who was also at the hotel, believes that the Ukrainian side knew about the presence of two politicians.

Mr. Rogozin was the general director of Roscosmos until July. He reacted with outrage and threats when the space agency was sanctioned earlier this year for its role in the Russian military industry. He is believed to have been replaced by former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov to ease tensions, which Russian officials have confirmed.

Source: RES-IPE