The commander of the “ArBat” battalion, consisting of Armenian volunteers in the Russian army, Ayk Gasparyan, has died in battles in Ukraine.
Modern.az reports, citing foreign media, that Ivan Prikhodko, the mayor of Horlivka, a city in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), disseminated this information.
According to the information, Gasparyan's combat path began with heavy battles for Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) as part of the “Wagner” private military company. In January 2023, he was awarded the “For Courage” medal by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Subsequently, Ayk Gasparyan led the “ArBat” battalion, which operated as part of the Volunteer Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Under his command, the unit participated in battles in the Avdiivka direction and also played a role in the capture of several settlements in the Kursk region.
It is reported that before the war, Gasparyan was a professional MMA fighter and coach. He was 34 years old.
It should be noted that last year, the founder of the “ArBat” battalion also died. On February 3, an explosion occurred in Moscow, in the “Alye Parusa” residential complex located on Aviatsiya Street. The Russian Investigative Committee announced that one of the injured had died in the hospital. The deceased was reported to be Armen Sarkisyan, the sponsor of the volunteer battalion operating in Donbas.
