Sparta Battalion commander killed in Volnovakha posthumously receives Hero of Russia award from Putin

Olena Roschyna – Sunday, 6 March 2022, 21:06

Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia to Vladimir Zhoga, commander of the Sparta Battalion, an illegal, armed group of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.

Source: Russian edition of RBK on Telegram

Details: Yesterday, the leader of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Denys Pushylin, announced Zhoga’s death in Volnovakha.

In the past, Zhoga, nicknamed "Voha", was the personal driver of the militant Arsen Pavlov, nicknamed "Motorola", who was killed in 2016 in Donetsk.

The Sparta Battalion is a rebel militant group of the Donetsk People's Republic. It was created in 2014 and took part in the battles for Slovyansk, Donetsk airport, Ilovaisk, and Debaltseve.

Until October 2016, the battalion was headed by Arsen "Motorola" Pavlov. He died in an explosion in the elevator of his house in Donetsk.

After Pavlov's assassination, Zhoga took over command of Sparta.