Many members of Vladimir Putin’s private Wagner military ground have been killed in a Ukrainian strike, officials said on Sunday, adding that the injured forces will not be able to access sufficient medical care to survive the attack.
"I am sure that at least 50 per cent of those who managed to survive will die before they get medical care," Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said. "This is because even in our Luhansk region, they have stolen equipment."
Mr Haidai claimed a “huge number of those who were there died”.
Wagner group is among the top three mercenary groups armed and fighting in the Russian invasion of its former Soviet territory.
This comes as Joe Biden welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s “openness to a just peace based on fundamental principles enshrined in the United Nations charter,” the White House said.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian port of Odessa has been left without power after Russia targeted two energy facilities using Iranian-made drones.
The attack left around 1.5 million people with no power during a brutal winter.
