The Sparta Battalion (russian: батальон «Спарта») is a Russian separatist military unit of the breakaway

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a disputed en ...

(DPR) in eastern

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. It has been fighting against the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

in the Donbas War and the 2022 Russian invasion. Formed in 2014, it was initially led by the Russian-born

Arsen Pavlov Arsen Sergeyevich Pavlov (russian: Арсе́н Серге́евич Па́влов; 2 February 1983 – 16 October 2016), known by his Motorola (Моторо́ла), was a Russian militant known for murdering and torturing Ukrainian POWs, wh ...

(callsign "Motorola") until his death in October 2016, and then by Vladimir Zhoga (, callsign "Vokha"), from

Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

, until his death in March 2022. The battalion took part in the

Battle of Ilovaisk The Battle of Ilovaisk; uk, Іловайський котел, '). The word " kettle" refers to encirclement by enemy forces, which is termed "falling into the kettle". The word is also used to refer to battles during the Second World War, su ...

and

Second Battle of Donetsk Airport A part of the ongoing war in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport began on 28 September 2014. An earlier battle in May 2014 had left Donetsk International Airport in Ukrainian control. Despite a ceasefire agreeme ...

and several others. According to ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'', the Sparta Battalion has "a reputation for ruthlessness". It has committed war crimes in the Donbas. The battalion flies the black-yellow-white flag of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

and, according to the European Eye on Radicalization, the unit "uses a combination of symbols of the Spartan military culture, well-known drivers of the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

, and from the Tsarist era". German anti-

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

news website ''Belltower'' described the militia as Russian ultranationalist and

irredentist Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...

History

According to Ukrainian and Russian sources, the unit was formed in August 2014 in Donetsk, based on the previously existing anti-tank/ MG troop led by Pavlov which earlier reportedly participated in

along with Igor Strelkov's "volunteer" forces.

Timeline of battles

In 2014, the battalion took part in the Battle of Illovaisk. In 2015, it fought in the

. During this battle, its fighters were filmed capturing Ukrainian soldiers (who were later paraded through Donetsk, where they were attacked by locals), and transporting the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Pavlov made Ukrainian POWs carry the bodies of other Ukrainians because, he said, "it's not our job to recover dead bodies, it's our job to make them." In January 2015, it participated in the Battle of Debaltseve. In March 2016, it was in the armed skirmish in Dokuchaievsk. In September 2016, the group was deployed into Lugansk People's Republic, with the stated aim of preventing an anticipated

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

. In late 2016, it was deployed at Sergey Prokofiev airport in Donetsk.

Invasion of Ukraine 2022

The battalion took part in: *

Battle of Volnovakha The battle of Volnovakha was a military engagement which lasted from 25 February 2022 until 12 March 2022, as part of the Eastern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian and DPR forces engaged Ukrainian forces at ...

Siege of Mariupol The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Militia) and the Ukrainian Armed ...

* Battle of Avdiivka

Controversies

Alleged war crimes

In February 2015, Ukrainian SSU started an investigation into allegations of war crimes committed in January 2015 by the Battalion and its leader Arsen Pavlov, with charges including murder, bullying, torture and forcing people into slave labor. In April 2015 Russian deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Amnesty International, Denis Krivosheev, blamed Pavlov for killing and torturing Ukrainian

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

captured at Donetsk airport. According to Krivosheev, Pavlov said in an interview to the ''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

'' that he killed Ukrainian who was prisoner of war at the time of his detention and who suffered several facial wounds and wasn't able to walk. In an controversial tape which was published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

in April 2015 which features voices of both of the ''Kyiv Post'''s journalist and a voice allegedly belonging to Pavlov, with the latter claiming to have killed 15 prisoners when the journalist asked him about Branovitsky, saying “I’ve shot 15 prisoners. I don’t give a shit. No comment. I kill whoever I want.” Amnesty called for thorough investigation of the crime. A surviving Ukrainian POW interviewed by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

said he had seen Pavlov shooting Branovitsky. In June it was reported by a Ukraine official that

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

refused to put Pavlov on their

wanted list A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

on the grounds of the "political nature of the Motorola case". In 2016, a ''

Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice News was create ...

'' journalist described being told by Sparta members about Ukrainian corpses still at Donetsk airport, which Sparta members had forced Ukrainian POWs to bury in 2014.

Structure

2015

Members' names were posted on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

on 5 April 2015 by Vyacheslav Abroskin, head of Donetsk Oblast's police. At least 40 names were listed. Its membership reportedly includes foreign fighters from

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

2022

In March 2022, the Battalion's commander Vladimir Zhoga was killed at

Volnovakha Volnovakha ( uk, Волнова́ха, ; russian: Волнова́ха) is a town in Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Volnovakha Raion, one of the 18 districts of the Donetsk Oblast. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, ...

in the course of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

. He was posthumously awarded the title of "Hero of the Russian Federation" by Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

. The sub-units of the battalion are approximately following: * 1st Company * 2nd Reconnaissance Company ** The commander was killed during the Battle of Avdiivka on April 21, 2022

Ideology and symbols

German anti-

news website ''Belltower'' described the militia as Russian ultranationalist and

. The battalion flies the black-yellow-white flag of the

and, according to the European Eye on Radicalization, the unit "uses a combination of symbols of the Spartan military culture, well-known drivers of the

, and from the Tsarist era". Its flag includes a letter M. According to a fighter interviewed by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', this is "because it is dedicated to Motorola, our commander... a DPR hero". The Ukrainian newspaper ''

Segodnya ''Segodnya'' ( rus, Сегодня, p=sʲɪˈvodʲnʲə, t=Today, a=Ru-сегодня.ogg) was a Russian-language Ukrainian tabloid newspaper founded in 1997. While run from Kyiv, it was linked to Donbass political and business groups; its hol ...

'' noted how the stylized red "M" looks identical to the logo of the ''Sparta Rangers'', a fictional faction of elite soldiers from the '' Metro 2033'' videogame.

Dmitry Glukhovsky Dmitry Alekseyevich Glukhovsky (russian: Дми́трий Алексе́евич Глухо́вский, born 12 June 1979) is a Russian author and journalist best known for the science fiction novel '' Metro 2033'' and its sequels. As a journa ...

, writer and creator of the ''Metro'' series, condemned the use of the name and symbol in a radio interview.

Commanders

* Arsen "Motorola" Pavlov (2014–2016) * Vladimir "Vokha" Zhoga (2016–2022) * Artem Zhoga (2022–present)

Gallery

File:2015-05-05. Репетиция парада Победы 204.jpg, First commander of the battalion preparing to participate in Victory Parade in 2015. File:DPR in Ilovaisk.png, Sparta Battalion in Ilovaisk talking to civilians near a cellar (August 2014) File:Sparta Battalion troops (Battle of Donetsk Airport).png, Sparta Battalion troops near the Donetsk Airport (October 2014) File:Motorola unit fighter (3).jpg, Company commander of the Sparta Battalion, "Matros", in Donetsk Airport. He led the final DPR assault on the New Terminal. File:2015-05-05. Репетиция парада Победы 200.jpg, Arsen Pavlov with his troops on

BTR-70 The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier (russian: бронетранспортер/ ''Bronetransporter'', or literally "Armoured Transporter") originally developed by the Soviet Union during the late 1960s under the manufacturing ...

s during the rehearsal of the 2015 Donetsk

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parade File:2016-05-09. День Победы в Донецке 047.jpg, Arsen Pavlov and Sparta Battalion troops on a

BTR-80 The BTR-80 (russian: бронетранспортёр, bronyetransportyor, literally "armoured transporter") is an 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the USSR. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous ...

during the 2016 Donetsk Victory Day parade File:2016-05-09. День Победы в Донецке 216.jpg, Sparta soldier at the Victory Parade in 2016.