Russian-backed military commander assassinated after speaking out against cease-fire

Alexei Mozgovoi, the leader of the Prizrak Battalion, was killed when the jeep he was traveling in near Alchevsk on May 23 came under heavy fire.

Mozgovoi was seriously injured and died about 49 minutes after the incident, the rebels’ press service said. His security chief and press secretary were also killed in the attack, which has so far been attributed to “saboteurs.”

A briefing was immediately called by prosecutors after the incident, though Sergei Gorenko, first deputy prosecutor of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, was able to say only that seven people were killed in the attack, though they have not all been identified.

Russian media cited anonymous sources in the separatists’ security service as saying the attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces, though Mozgovoi’s disagreements with other leaders in his camp have been well-documented in recent months.

Mozgovoi had gained a reputation for uncompromising ruthlessness, having gained notoriety last October for setting up “people’s courts” which reportedly sentenced accused rapists to death.

Mozogovoi had also recently spoken out against the cease-fire called for by the February Minsk II agreements, saying he was “ready for more dead bodies” in an interview with The Independent on May 19. An attempt was made on Mozgovoi’s life in late March in the same area. At that time, he pinned the attack on someone bent on destabilizing the separatist-controlled areas.