According to reports, a Russian former deputy prime minister has been wounded by shelling at a hotel in the Russian-controlled area of eastern Ukraine.
Dmitry Rogozin, who once led the space agency, said he was hit above the shoulder blade.
Another person is said to be involved in the attack on the outskirts of Donetsk city.
Vitaly Khotsenko, head of Russia’s proxy Donetsk People’s Republic, was also reportedly injured.
Mr. Rogozin is widely known for his anti-Western rhetoric and support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He was replaced as head of the Roscosmos space agency in the summer, following suggestions that the Kremlin would give him a key role in the Russian-held areas of eastern Ukraine. Instead, he appears to lead a volunteer unit called the Tsar’s Wolves that provides support to Russia’s proxy forces in the east.
He turned 59 on Wednesday but denied reports that he had been celebrating his birthday at a local Shesh Besh hotel, adding that someone had leaked details of where he had been before the attack.
“It was a business meeting with a close circle of colleagues after returning from one of the volunteer units,” he posted on social media on Thursday. “We have stayed in this hotel all these months and in eight years the enemy has never shelled this place.”
An aide told JEE News that the hotel was hit by precision-guided munitions, likely fired by French-made howitzers.
Donetsk has been under the control of Russian proxies since 2014, which have repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the city.
Although Russian forces have captured areas further south of Donetsk since the offensive began in February, they are struggling to push Ukrainian forces back from the city’s outskirts.
