The former head of Russian space was wounded in the bombing of Ukraine

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Updates with comments from the Ukrainian Border Guard Service

Former Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday that he and several others were injured in the bombing of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday night.

Rogozin, a nationalist politician and avid war supporter who apparently was celebrating his birthday when the attack took place, said “someone has been leaking information” about his whereabouts.

“Several HD hits occurred around 19:45, including exactly where we were,” Rogozin said in a post on his Telegram channel.

“A 3 x 4 mm metal fragment went into my right shoulder,” he wrote, adding that he was expected to undergo surgery.

Rogozin’s aide told state media that the former Roscosmos chief was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though he later said doctors were unable to remove shrapnel from his wound.

Shesh-Besh cafe in Donetsk, where Rogozin was allegedly wounded. t.me/Kremlin Russian

Two people were killed in the attack, according to the head of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushlin, who also said that the deputy head of the Donetsk People’s Republic government, Vitaly Khotsenko, was also wounded in the attack.

Ukraine’s Border Service confirmed the restaurant was targeted by the Ukrainian military and said the attack was a penalty notice for Rogozin for illegally entering Ukrainian territory, independent Russian media outlet The Insider reported Thursday.

The Border Guard Department said, “The Border Guard was not personally able to hand over the charge to the perpetrator, so the concerned person received it during his birthday celebrations.”

“The Border Service urges the Russians not to violate Ukrainian law, as they will be held responsible.”

Shesh-Besh cafe in Donetsk where Rogozin was allegedly wounded. t.me/Kremlin Russian

Rogozin, who previously also served as Putin’s deputy prime minister and envoy to NATO, was replaced as head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos in July.

Russian media reported late this fall that Putin may appoint Rogozin as his envoy to four partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Russia and Crimea. The Kremlin refused to disclose its plans for Rogozin at the time.

The state news agency TASS has identified Rogozin’s current role as the head of a group of military advisers dubbed the “Tsar’s Wolves”.

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