The notorious Russian politician Dmitry Rogozin, former director general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, said he was injured during an attack in Donetsk on Wednesday after someone leaked his whereabouts.
On Wednesday night, Rogozin was at a hotel on the outskirts of Donetsk, a Russian-occupied city in the east of Ukraine, when a shell hit the hotel, BBC reported. The next day, the former head of Roscosmos confirmed his injury through his Telegram channel. “Metal (shell) fragment 3×4 mm in size entered above my right shoulder blade. “An operation is coming,” he wrote. “Several other people close to me were also injured.” Rogozin claimed that someone had leaked his location at the hotel.
Rogozin was removed from his position in July, days after lashing out against the European Space Agency and threatening to restrict access to a robotic arm attached to the International Space Station.
In late November, images of Rogozin in full battle gear surfaced online and were met with ridicule and criticism. Rogozin declared himself leader of a volunteer unit called “Tsar Wolves,” which is providing technical military support for Russian troops.
Apparently Russian military correspondents are making fun of Dmitry Rogozin because he keeps posting photos of himself in fancy NATO military gear that is an order of magnitude more expensive than regular Russian troops get. Example: pic.twitter.com/j7nQyTMPys
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) November 28, 2022
Rogozin was a fiery and combative personality while at the helm of Roscosmos. He spoke out in support of the ongoing war and expressed his dismay at the international sanctions imposed against Russia by the U.S. and Europe. As head of Roscosmos, Rogozin constantly threatened to pull out of the ISS, in which Russia has had a longstanding partnership with NASA and the European Space Agency.
Rogozin’s dismissal from Roscosmos may have been a way to deescalate Russia’s relations with its space partners, but the hot-headed political figure is still stirring up trouble on his own.
More: NASA Condemns Russian Space Agency Over War Propaganda on the ISS