Senior Officials Call Ukraine Fires The Russian Wagner Army Headquarters In Lugansk

Illustration of Wagner Group's headquarters. (Twitter/@Archer83Able)

JAKARTA - Senior officials said Sunday that Ukrainian forces had attacked a hotel where members of the Russian private military group Wagner were based, killing many members of the group.

The statement was made by the Russian-occupied Lugansk Regional Governor Serhiy Gaidai in a television interview, unverified by Reuters, as reported December 12.

Gaidai said troops launched an attack on Saturday at a hotel in Kadivka City, west of the main center of the Lugansk region.

Photos posted on the Telegram channel show a building most of which has become debris.

"There was a bit of pop there, right where Wagner's headquarters is. A large number of those there died," he said.

Gaidai did not give the victim figures, but he said those who survived did not receive adequate medical services for treatment.

"I believe at least 50 percent of those who managed to survive will die before receiving medical treatment," he said.

"This is because even in our Luhansk area, they have stolen the equipment," he said.

Several Ukrainian media quoted local officials as saying the hotel had been closed for some time.

Separately, the Russian Ministry of Defense was not immediately available for comment.

The Wagner Group is a private military contractor with close ties to the Kremlin. Its troops are known to be fighting in parts of Ukraine and have also been deployed in a number of African countries.

Private military company, founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, former restaurant owner and close associate Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been repeatedly accused of war crimes and human rights abuses, citing the BBC.

Earlier, Gaidai reported attacks by Ukrainian troops on other targets in the Luhansk region, including against Wagner's headquarters in the city of Popasna in August.