As a result of the explosion in Popasna, more than 100 Wagner militants may have died – Luhansk Oblast Military Administration

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – MONDAY, 15 AUGUST 2022, 16:32

More than 100 Russian mercenaries have in all likelihood been killed as a result of the attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the headquarters of Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner in temporarily occupied Popasna.

Source: Serhii Haidai, Head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, live on the national 24/7 newscast and on his Telegram feed

Quote from Haidai: "The Luhansk region is on the defensive. Further proof was the "explosion" [here the author uses the word ‘хлопок’ which also means ‘cotton’ in Ukrainian, which has since become a meme – ed.] in Popasna with the death of Wagner mercenaries. For now, we will not comment on the details. But if it turns out that in the end more than 100 Wagner militants from the leadership team died, this will no longer be news to us."

Details: Haidai advised waiting for the official report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but noted that Yevgeny Prigozhin [a Russian oligarch who controls a network of companies], the curator of the PMC, was most likely not injured, although they say that his deputies are among those killed.

Background: On 14 August Russian Telegram channels reported on the attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the headquarters of the Wagner PMC [a network of mercenaries who serve as the de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin] in occupied Popasna, Luhansk Oblast, a photo of which was recently published by a Russian military correspondent.

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