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Officials, volunteers will keep visiting new Russian regions, Kremlin believes

Dmitry Peskov said staying in some areas of Donbass was "still dangerous and fraught with risks," but he doubted that these circumstances would hamper officials to fulfil their duties or be an obstacle for those visiting here at their will

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Russian officials and volunteers will continue visiting the country’s new regions despite the risks, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on a shelling attack on Wednesday in which ex-Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin was injured.

"Officials have been visiting (new - TASS) Russian regions and will continue doing so <…>. Officials must travel there. Apart from that, there are huge numbers of volunteers and volunteer organizations who have been invaluable there, too," Peskov said, recalling that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly praised such volunteer efforts.

He said staying in some areas of Donbass was "still dangerous and fraught with risks," but he doubted that these circumstances would hamper officials from fulfilling their duties or be an obstacle for those who come there by their own free will.

Peskov also offered his condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the latest Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk and wished a speedy recovery to those who sustained wounds.

On Wednesday night, Rogozin, the leader of the Tsar’s Wolves team of military advisers, was wounded in a Ukrainian attack on Donetsk and taken to a hospital, his aide told TASS. Those traveling with Rogozin were also injured. In addition, two deaths were reported.

Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Vitaly Khotsenko was also wounded in the attack. However, his spokeswoman Mina Akhverdiyeva told TASS that the official had refused to be hospitalized.

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