Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine strikes Wagner HQ in Luhansk, governor says

Ukraine strikes Wagner HQ in Luhansk, governor says

Ukrainian forces have struck a headquarters of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, says the governor-in-exile of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

Serhiy Haidai said a hotel where the group met in Kadiivka, Luhansk, had been hit with major losses.

The BBC was unable to independently verify Wagner's presence at the hotel.

Fighting also raged in southern Ukraine over the weekend, with Russia targeting Odesa and Ukraine bombarding a target in the occupied city of Melitopol.

Wagner are state-sponsored mercenaries who act in the Kremlin's interests, according to Western experts.

The private military company, set up by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former restaurateur and close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses.

Wagner units have previously been deployed in Crimea, Syria, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.

In the Kadiivka strike, Mr Haidai said Russia had suffered "significant losses" and he expected "at least 50%" of the surviving forces to die due to a lack of medical treatment.

During a phone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden said Washington was prioritising efforts to help boost Ukraine's air defence systems.

The pair also spoke about Mr Zelensky's desire for a "just peace" with Russia "based on fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter", the White House said.


This file photo shows Ukrainian troops operating a multiple rocket launcher last week

The attack on the "Wagner HQ", in the east, came amid further fighting in southern Ukraine.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian army said it had shot down 10 drones, with another five hitting energy facilities in the port city of Odesa - leaving some 1.5 million people without power.

"The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult," President Zelensky said in his nightly video address. "Unfortunately the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity. It doesn't take hours, but a few days."

Key infrastructure was hit by Russia's Iran-made drones, according to Ukrainian officials.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to host an online meeting of G7 leaders on Monday, where further sanctions on Russia and Iran will be discussed.

The proposed measures would target Iran over its supply of drones to Russia, while the ninth package of Russia sanctions would place almost 200 more individuals on an EU sanctions list.
Moscow-backed authorities in Melitopol posted images of a fire


In Melitopol, pro-Moscow authorities said a Ukrainian missile attack had killed two people and injured 10. Images shared by a Moscow-installed official there showed a big fire.

"Air defence systems destroyed two missiles, four reached their targets," Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russia-installed governor of the city, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He added that a "recreation centre" where people were dining had been destroyed in the attack, and that Ukrainian forces had used US-supplied Himars rocket launchers.

This weapon has played a key role in Ukraine's counter-offensive, being used to target locations away from the frontlines, including Russia's command posts.

Ivan Fedorov, Melitopol's exiled mayor, said scores of "invaders" had been killed.

Melitopol has been under occupation since early March and is a major logistics hub for the Russian forces in the south-east.

The city, in the Zaporizhzhia region, is strategically located between Mariupol to the east, Kherson and the Dnipro River to the west, and Crimea to the south.

Ukraine says its efforts to retake occupied territory are continuing, despite the arrival of winter.

In recent weeks, most of the fighting has taken place in the east of the country, especially around the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

But on Saturday night, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Zelensky, indicated that Melitopol could be a main target of Ukrainian forces.

"If Melitopol falls, the entire defence line all the way to Kherson collapses," he said in an interview.

If that happened, he added, "Ukrainian forces would gain a direct route to Crimea," the peninsula Russia annexed in 2014 and that the Ukrainians have vowed to retake.


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×