In June of this year, Ukrainian troops attacked the occupied Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov) in Luhansk oblast — artillery hit the administration premises of the Peremoha stadium and a nearby building, burying 50 to 250 mercenaries of the Russian PMC Wagner under rubble.
The reporter of The Kyiv Independent, Oleksandr Hrebet, who conducted a journalistic investigation, told "Donbas Realiya" about this.
The attack of the Armed Forces destroyed not only the mercenaries but also the warehouse with weapons and ammunition. It turned out that the Ukrainian military received accurate information about the location of the Russian unit from local residents.
Russian propagandists claimed that the strike was carried out by the BM-21 "Grad" system, but what exactly was fired by the Armed Forces is unknown. Kadiivka is located at least 45 kilometers from the front line. At that time, the Ukrainian military did not have American HIMARS MLRS in service, at least, there was no official information about their use.
- On June 10, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck the area of the stadium in Kadiivka. The head of Luhansk oblast military administration, Serhii Haidai, said even then that the base of mercenaries of the "PMC Wagner" was located in the sports hall of the stadium. Conflict Intelligence Team researcher Kyrylo Mykhaylov reported that the Armed Forces were able to destroy the base thanks to a video on TikTok.
- "Vagner PMC" actively participates in the war against Ukraine and suffers significant losses. Because of this, the mercenary leadership recruits Russian prisoners and the unemployed in employment centers.