A top Russian official was killed in a strike by Ukraine at a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk in Ukraine's Luhansk region, officials announced on Monday.
Alexey Poteleshchenko was the Kremlin-installed minister of emergency situations in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic [LPR] in Ukraine's Donbas region. He died in the attack on Saturday, Russian state-run news agencies RIA Novosti and Tass reported, citing sources. Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.
Poteleshchenko's death was later confirmed by the Kremlin-installed head of the self-proclaimed region, Leonid Pasechnik.
"He was a courageous man with an iron character and huge fortitude. He defended the Luhansk People's Republic in the ranks of the People's Militia, then worked in the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the LPR," Pasechnik wrote on his Telegram channel on Monday.
"We will definitely take revenge on the enemy for his death and for the deaths of all those who became victims of the inhumane shelling of Lysychansk," he said.
Pasechnik said he personally knew Poteleshchenko "as a high-class professional." He extended his condolences to his family and friends.
Citing representatives of Russia's Investigative Committee, Russian publication RTVI reported that the strike was likely carried out by Ukraine using a U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Newsweek couldn't independently verify if the weapons were used in the attack.
On Saturday, Russia's emergencies ministry said at least 28 people had been killed as a result of Ukrainian shelling at the bakery.
Ukrainian officials haven't commented on the incident, or claimed responsibility for the strike.
Pasechnik said on Saturday that the bakery was crowded with civilians when it was hit.
"According to preliminary data, the strike was carried out using Western weapons," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of the attack.
"EU citizens should know how their taxes are used—they are used to buy deadly weapons systems and send them to the Kyiv regime which uses them to kill civilians," she added.
The U.S. has so far donated 39 HIMARS to Ukraine through its military aid packages.
On January 26, a video circulating on social media appeared to show the moment Kyiv's forces attacked a group of drone pilots at a Russian military training ground in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region with HIMARS.
Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov first reported the attack, saying it killed 24 drone operators near the city of Ilovaisk.
The 52-second aerial footage shows the moments prior to the strike, and cuts to a cloud of black smoke and fire rising into the sky.
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Update 2/5/24, 6:30 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.
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