A hardcore pro-Putin military blogger on Tuesday questioned the Russian defense ministry’s official death toll of the Ukrainian HIMARS missile strike on an ammunition depot in the eastern Donetsk region, a number the Kremlin put at 63 but Kyiv estimated to be about 400.
“Despite the official statement of the Ministry of Defense, the exact number of casualties is still unknown,” said Semyon “WarGonzo” Pegov, who was personally awarded the “Order of Courage” medal by Putin less than two weeks ago. “To the degree we can trust our own sources who work at the spot where this tragedy happened, they are still digging up the rubble at this moment. And unfortunately, the number of victims of this tragedy – the HIMARS strike on the quarters of both newly mobilized and the serving military, including National Guard – could be bigger,” Pegov added.