Who Was Vladimir Zhoga? Russian Neo-Nazi Warlord Killed

Vladimir Zhoga, a leader of a rebel military group in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), accused of brutal war crimes and shooting Ukrainian prisoners of war since its formation in 2014, has been shot dead in battle.

Zhoga, who led the neo-Nazi ‘Sparta Battalion’, was assassinated in Volnovakha, Ukraine.

Denis Pushilin, who heads the breakaway Ukrainian territory of Donetsk, confirmed his murder on his Telegram channel.

“Today, the commander of the Spartan separate reconnaissance battalion, Guard Colonel Vladimir Zhoga (nom de guerre Vokha), died a hero in Volnovakha,” he wrote.

According to Pushilin, the commander was killed during an operation to evacuate civilians from Volnovakha, one of the towns where Russian troops violated a ceasefire agreement on Saturday.

Zhoga joined the Russian-backed rebels in 2014, the same year the Sparta Battalion, a neo-Nazi militia backed by Moscow, was created.

The group is behind a wave of deadly attacks on Ukrainian troops and has been waging war in the Donbass region since hostilities broke out eight years ago.

Its former leader, Arsen Pavlov, known as Motorola, was indicted for war crimes in Kyiv and was killed when an explosive device exploded in 2016.

Zhoga’s death is another major blow to Putin after he lost two top military commanders this week and his army fails to make territorial gains as fast as expected.