Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bednov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бедно́в, uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович Бєдно́в; 29 August 1969 – 1 January 2015) was a former Soviet and Ukrainian militsiya officer and

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...

commander of the

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

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 inv ...

. He was the leader of the pro-Russian Batman Rapid Response Group. He was assassinated in Luhansk, with conflicting reports on who was responsible.

Death

Bednov commanded the Rapid Response Group "Batman" (also known as the Batman Battalion) until he was killed in an attack on his convoy on 1 January 2015. Members of the group said that the attack was ordered by head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)

Igor Plotnitsky Igor Venediktovich Plotnitsky uk, Ігор Венедиктович Плотницький, translit=Ihor Venedyktovych Plotnytskyi (born 25 June 1964) is a former Ukrainian separatist leader who served as the head of the self-proclaimed Luhan ...

. According to them, Bednov and his fighters were shot and killed "by order of Plotnitsky" because he was "ordered to sweep all intransigent commanders." Following this attack, the LPR arrested some of Bednov's men, and dissolved the battalion. Some of its personnel were dispersed into other LPR units, while

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 Territorial ...

field commanders Givi and

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invited former members to join their battalions. After Bednov's assassination,

Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...

criticized the killing as a "murder" and "gangster ambush", and suggested that other commanders seriously consider leaving

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, as he did.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bednov, Aleksandr 1969 births 2015 deaths Ukrainian militsiya officers Male murder victims People from Luhansk People murdered in Ukraine People of Anti-Maidan People of the Luhansk People's Republic Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas Russian military personnel of the war in Donbas Unsolved murders in Ukraine Deaths by firearm in Ukraine Military personnel killed in war in Donbas Ukrainian collaborators with Russia