Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos former chief, wounded when celebrating his birthday in Donetsk

Dmitry Rogozin, former CEO of Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, the head of the group of military advisers and Tsar's Wolves scientific and technical centre, was wounded during the shelling of Shesh-Besh Hotel in Donetsk, TASS reports with reference to his assistant.

According to the agency, the hotel, where a group of military advisers headed by Rogozin lived, is located on the outskirts of the city.

"Dmitriy Rogozin was wounded in the back. He was hospitalized. There is no threat to his life. Persons accompanying him also received injuries of varying severity," assistant to Dmitry Rogozin said.

As Rogozin said in his Telegram channel, he was injured when he was holding a work meeting in a narrow circle in the hotel.

"We've stayed in this hotel for all the last months, and for eight years the enemy has never shelled this place. Someone leaked the information, and around 19:45 there were several high-precision strikes, including in the place where we were located,” Rogozin wrote in his Telegram channel.

According to preliminary reports, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used a 155-millimeter CAESAR self-propelled artillery mount for the strike. According to military correspondent Semyon Pegov, the targeted strike on the guest house was delivered either by rocket artillery or a long-range Excalibur projectile.

Rogozin later clarified that it was piece of metal debris measuring three by four millimeters that entered his body in the area above his right scapula. He also suffered a shrapnel wound to the soft tissues of the head, a penetrating shrapnel wound to the buttocks, and a penetrating shrapnel wound to the left thigh.

Rogozin's assistant said that Roscosmos former chief assessed his condition as satisfactory.

According to medical specialists, the metal piece that entered his back is unrecoverable.

The Ukrainian military shelled Shesh Besh Hotel in Donetsk when Rogozin was celebrating his birthday there (he turned 59 on December 21).

Vitaly Khotsenko, the head of the government of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), was also wounded in the attack. His bodyguard was killed, State Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlev said, who was also staying at the hotel.

According to Zhuravlev, the hotel was shelled on someone's tip. Three rockets struck the building of the hotel at about eight o'clock, when several guests, Rogozin's guards and his associates were staying inside.

Rogozin left Roskomsos in July 2022. At the end of October, he spoke about his trip to the front line, where he took the call sign "Cosmos". He then he changed it to "Sarmat." In November, Rogozin said he was heading the Tsar's Wolves inspection team, which consisted of experienced military advisers and experts.