Reuters | | Posted by Yagya Sharma
A former Russian deputy prime minister and a pro-Moscow official were wounded when Ukrainian forces shelled the eastern city of Donetsk on Wednesday, Russian news agencies said.
Donetsk, controlled by pro-Moscow troops, lies in the industrial Donbas region, the epicenter of recent bitter fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
Read also| Putin blames the West for provoking the war in Ukraine
One of the injured men was Dmitry Rogozin, a former Russian deputy prime minister who provides military advice to two occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims as its own, an aide told the Tass news agency, his life was not in danger.
Vitaly Khotsenko, the head of government of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, was also injured, his press secretary told Russian news agencies.
Read also| In Washington, Zelensky vows “to make no concessions” to try to end Russia’s war
The two men were injured when a hotel on the outskirts of Donetsk was attacked with high-precision weapons, aides told Russian agencies. A Russian parliamentarian who was also at the hotel suggested the attackers had acted on a tip.
Rogozin used to head Russia’s space agency but was replaced in July. He had taken a confrontational stance since the agency received sanctions for its role in the defense industry.
