A notorious Russian mercenary
known as “The Executioner” and suspected of slaughtering prisoners of war and
civilians in Ukraine has been killed, according to reports.
Russian-language Telegram
channels and media outlets reported that Vladimir Andonov, 44, a purported
member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s feared private army the Wagner
Group, was shot dead by an apparent Ukraine sniper in Kharkiv last week.
“He was killed overnight
during a reconnaissance of the area, along with a comrade, presumably at the
hands of a sniper,” Telegram channel Peleng 03 reported Sunday.
The Russian newspaper Moskovskij
Komsomolets described Andonov, who operated under the code name “Vaha,” as
a volunteer from the Republic of Buryatia who gained fame in 2014 when he
first traveled to Ukraine after the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Andonov earned the nickname
“The Executioner” for killing prisoners of war in 2015 in the hotly
contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian database
“Peacemaker,” which catalogs Russia’s alleged war crimes.
Andonov later plied his trade
as a gun-for-hire in Libya and Syria and was awarded two medals for valor while
fighting as part of Putin’s shadowy private army, which has been linked to
atrocities in war zones across the globe.
The bloodthirsty mercenary was
the latest high-profile Russian fighter to meet his end in Ukraine. News of his
death came just days after Major Gen. Roman Kutuzov and Lt. Gen. Roman
Brednikov were reported killed in action in the Donbas region.
