Donetsk commander Givi killed in terrorist attack

J. Arnoldski
Fort Russ
Wed, 08 Feb 2017 17:16 UTC

The commander of the Donetsk People's Republic's Somali battalion, Mikhail Tolstykh, famous as Givi, has been killed in a terrorist attack in Donetsk, the Ministry of Defense of the DPR has reported.

"Regrettably, we can confirm this fact," the DPR's military spokesman, Eduard Basurin, has told journalists.

The terrorist attack took place at around 6:00 A.M. Givi was reportedly killed in his office by a Shmel flamethrower. "The death of this man was beneficial to Ukrainian special forces," the DPR command commented.

Employees of the Ministry for Emergency Situations are working at the scene.

According to a defense ministry official, "This is a continuation of the terrorist war begun by the Kiev government against the people of Donbass. An investigative team is working at the site of the terrorist attack."

The ministry also added that security measures have been stepped up in the DPR and residents are urged to remain calm. "We know what kind of people these are. We will find them and they will be punished to the full extent of wartime laws," the DPR's prosecutor stated, also confirming that the terrorist attack was the work of a Ukrainian sabotage-reconnaissance group.

Colonel Mikhail Tolstykh, a.k.a. Givi, was born in Ilovaysk on July 19th, 1980. Givi chose his nickname while serving in the Ukrainian Army. After the coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, Tolstykh became one of the activists of the movement for self-determination for the country's eastern regions.

When Ukrainian troops began their military operation against the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Givi was promoted to commander and fought in the battles of Slavyansk, Ilovaysk, as well the Donetsk Airport. Numerous assassination attempts were made on Givi over the course of the war. Givi received the Order of Hero of the DPR, two St. George Crosses, and a "For Defending Slavyansk" medal.

In October 2016, Givi's close comrade-in-arms and militia commander Arsen Pavlov, a.k.a Motorola, was also killed in Donetsk as a result of a terrorist attack.

Givi's assassination is the second high-profile attack over the past week in the context of the overall escalation of the situation in Donbass. On February 4th, the commander of the Lugansk People's Militia, Oleg Anashchenko, was killed in Lugansk, which was also identified as a Ukrainian terrorist attack.

Comment: Inessa Sinchougova's tribute to a hero of the Donbass:

Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict in 2014, commanders Givi and Motorola, both of whom have now perished at the hands of the Kiev junta, have been defending the Donbass region from the Ukrainian army, the far-Right Ukro-fascists, paid mercenaries, and their Washington-based founders.

Throughout the conflict, Western media portrayed them as rebels and separatists, despite the fact they were defending their own land.

After the murder of Motorola, Givi recorded the following message - clearly spoken in mourning for his friend. It is with great sadness to have to report that Givi did not live to see a peaceful Donbass.

That's 3 top rebels fighters assassinated 2 months. Assuming Kiev was behind this, and the CIA through them, is this provocation intended to rile the Donbass militias and provoke them into re-engaging with the fascist Ukie horde?