The legendary commander of the Sparta battalion of the Donetsk People’s Republic Arseny Pavlov mostly known with his nickname “Motorola” has been reportedly killed just minutes ago. According to reports, Motorola was going home and an explosion took place in the elevator. The DPR officials stated that the explosive device was activated from distance and was a planned murder by the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group.
Motorola gained popularity in the beginning of the uprising in Eastern Ukraine and was one of the most popular figures in the Donetsk People’s Republic. He was 33 years old and left behind a wife and two children. This is obviously a planned provocation by the Ukrainian army which has increased its shelling and attacks on the contact line in the past few weeks.
Motorola is yet another commander of the breakaway republics who has been killed after the Minsk agreement was signed. In May 2015, the commander of the Ghost Brigade of the Lugansk People’s Republic Alexey Mozgovoy was killed in an ambush.