Why was Givi killed? Who was “cooler” - Givi or Motorola? Ilya Barabanov, special correspondent for Kommersant Publishing House

Russian " New Newspaper“published correspondence with a certain terrorist of the Somali unit, Muscovite Igor Myltsev (French). He not only admits to the murder of Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi), but also names a series of reasons that allegedly prompted him and several other “Somalis” to destroy the militant leader, promoted by the Kremlin media.

Myltsev notes that during the battle in the Avdiivka industrial zone, Givi decided that the Ukrainian military would not only completely destroy his unit, but would also approach Yasinovataya. The leader of “Somalia” could not escape, since this would be regarded as desertion, so he shot himself in the leg. He was taken to the hospital as if he was wounded. Already from Donetsk, he ordered to “cover” the positions of his own subordinates with artillery. He probably thought they were dead. It turned out that some survived.

This incident, as well as the chronic theft of humanitarian aid and weapons, allegedly turned many against the Tolstoys. The Frenchman assures that Givi “would have taken revenge on anyone.” The Frenchman himself calls the version of the “authorities” of the DPR about the actions of the Ukrainian DRG “ridiculous,” assuring that the SBU do not cross the demarcation line. Myltsev also confirmed that after the death of Motorola, Tolstykh understood that he could be next, and took his family to Transnistria. In addition, Myltsev explained that Givi had long wanted to leave the DPR, but they did not let him go, they say, the rules are such that “a penny in, a ruble out,” and added that there are rules “like in a world of thieves.”

Myltsev himself is now hiding in the vicinity of Donetsk, maybe in the same Makeyevka, where “Somalia” is stationed. He writes that he was wounded, and dealt with the leader together with his comrades who “went underground.”

REAL already wrote in a version that Somalia militants wanted Givi dead. Recognition and publication in Russian press The “confession” of Moscow resident I. Myltsev, who took responsibility for eliminating the “commander,” may be true. However, it cannot be ruled out that the Frenchman had to take on the murder for the sake of credibility. (Or maybe he was framed and this man was completely out of his mind). Since in Makeyevka itself (Givi was killed in Ganzovka, this is a suburb of Donetsk, which is closest to Makeyevka) everyone knew that the building was over-protected, no one believed in the DRG version. And in order to cover up the FSB operation, best story, than “confession of a militant” you can’t imagine.

February 12th, 2017

If you listened to the news with messages about terrorist act in the Donbass, in which the commander of the Somali battalion with the call sign GIVI died, you might think that he was killed by shooting out the window from a grenade launcher.

However, it was still a flamethrower...

The flamethrower is one of the most demoralizing weapons on the battlefield. It is mistakenly believed that they were the first to invent it German troops. This opinion came from the fact that it was Germany that first used flamethrowers during the fighting of the First World War, but Soviet military technicians had been developing their apparatus for a long time. The events described took place in 1915-1916, but the prototype of the flamethrower appeared much earlier: the first mentions of such a weapon date back to around the 7th century. It was then called " greek fire».

Initially, Greek fire was used in naval battles. In 673 and 717−718, with its help, the Arab fleet was burned, in 872, 20 Cretan ships were destroyed, and in 882, the fiery Byzantine ships (helandria) again defeated the Arab fleet. Since then, the design of flamethrowers has been improved over the centuries, and their lethality has increased tenfold.

The idea of ​​flamethrowers was first put forward by the Russian engineer Mikhail Zigern-Korn in 1898, however War Department Russia considered it “unreal.” In 1901, the German engineer Fiedler patented his invention in Germany under the modest title “Method for producing large masses of flame.” IN short time Fiedler created three types of flamethrowers at once and offered them... to Russia. It was in Russia at the Ust-Izhora test site that the first tests of Fiedler’s flamethrowers were carried out, but something confused Russian military officials. Minister Polivanov ordered not to buy flamethrowers, but to “continue to monitor the tests.” When the Germans “opened fire to kill” in 1915, all armies became concerned with creating their own flamethrowers. And almost all flamethrowers were based on Fiedler’s ideas, in particular, his classification.

The Germans used flamethrowers the most during the war (especially during the Battle of Verdun). The Germans also created the first special unit, which, by the way, was headed by... former boss Leipzig fire department Major Hermann Reddemann.

And yet flamethrowers never became highly effective weapons. It was by no means a miracle weapon, and not many soldiers died from it. In any case, definitely less than from poisonous gases or machine-gun fire. But psychological effect was unusually large. Demoralization, intimidation of the enemy - in this, few could compare with the “fiery stream”. It is no coincidence that already during the First World War, the idea appeared to combine two new types of weapons: flamethrowers and tanks, but it never came to practical implementation.

And the attitude towards flamethrowers was controversial even among the military. Some considered them “an achievement of progress,” others considered them “barbarism.” But in any case, the appearance of flamethrowers can be considered an excellent example of the foresight of talented individuals and the inertia of the bureaucracy. After all, the inventor of the flamethrower, Fiedler, traveled around Europe for almost ten years, convincing governments different countries buy his invention. And I didn’t find understanding anywhere! They say that at some point he just... disappeared. There are no photographs of him or personal documents left. Only a description of the patents for the weapon, which was first called a flame thrower, and then a flamethrower.

However, the first prototype of the Soviet backpack flamethrower ROKS-1 was created 24 years later, in 1940. Cylinders with a flammable mixture were attached to the backpack, and the flamethrower gun itself looked like an ordinary gun. Soviet model The flamethrower was put into combat mode later than the German one only because it was sent for revision, as a result of which the volume of flammable liquid and maximum flamethrowing increased in the subsequent model ROKS-3.

Throughout World War II, flamethrowers destroyed many enemy forces. Only according to approximate calculations by historians: manpower - 34,000 people, tanks, self-propelled guns, armored personnel carriers - 120, pillboxes, bunkers and other firing points - 3,000, vehicles - 145. How much? powerful weapon became a flamethrower in our time?

Russia can boast of developments that have virtually no analogues throughout the world. The “ancient” method of delivering a combustible mixture has fallen into oblivion. And if in military flamethrowers and post-war period it “spilled” under pressure, then in 1970, Soviet weapons engineers created a fundamentally different weapon in its class: the RPO “Lynx” infantry jet flamethrower.

If we discard dry numbers and facts, then rocket-propelled flamethrowers with thermobaric ammunition are the most lethal weapon infantry. New type ammunition, work on which began during the fighting in Afghanistan, could in the future provide excellent opportunities to defeat enemy personnel without attracting additional forces and means.

The essence of a jet flamethrower, in a nutshell, is that ammunition that causes serious damage to the enemy does not need to be waited from the air by requesting aviation, or delivered using cannon or rocket artillery.

This amount of ammunition veterans Afghan war They are given only as an example, since it happened that up to 10 shots from an RPG-7 were spent on a well-constructed fortification. The Bumblebee infantry rocket flamethrower, which came into service with the Soviet troops, replaced another rocket flamethrower, the Lynx.

A jet flamethrower with thermobaric ammunition, capable of reaching the strongest enemy in any terrain and any shelter, was adopted by the Soviet troops in 1988. At the same time, it became clear that infantry formations would now be able to cope with the task on their own, without the involvement of artillery or air strikes.

Tested, albeit not immediately, in the conditions of Afghanistan, rocket-propelled flamethrowers gave a clear answer to the question of whether it is possible to “put out” an enemy firing point with one shot.

The most mass application rocket flamethrowers "Bumblebee", to the surprise of many, were used not in Afghanistan, but in fighting in the North Caucasus. It was during the battles for Chechnya, Dagestan and other regions of the Caucasus that it became clear that the “targeted” work of the RPO “Shmel” was his real calling. If you look for messages from those years (from 1994 to 1999 inclusive), literally through one printed publication you can find in the materials a mention of the “secret vacuum weapon” that the militants were so afraid of.

And although the very term “vacuum” ammunition is fundamentally incorrect, the main thing in those difficult years when counteraction to radical gangs was just beginning was something else - the efficiency of thermobaric ammunition.

The design of the flamethrower is extremely simple. A capsule with gunpowder flies out of the pipe rocket engine, flies a kilometer and explodes. That's all. However, everything about this simplicity is truly brilliant. The ballistics of an unguided missile, for example, allows an experienced shooter to hit a target the size of a pillbox embrasure from a distance of 600 m.

RPO-A is used to destroy and suppress enemy personnel, disable lightly armored and automotive technology. Can also be used for shooting at various fortifications.

A significant design feature of this type of jet flamethrower is the absence of a gun. Instead, a launch container is actually used, which is thrown away after firing a shot, i.e. RPO-A is a disposable flamethrower.

Hence the originality of the design of this sample. The container itself, which is the launch tube, is extremely simple in design. Here you can highlight the trigger mechanism, sighting device ( optical sight, front sight, but you can use the OPO-1 optical sight), folding front handle, rod. Container length 920 mm.

The firing mechanism is located in separate building, mounted on the outer part of the starting device, and consists of a folding handle with a lock, the trigger mechanism body itself with a trigger guard and safety lock, a firing mechanism in a casing and a capsule sleeve. For a more stable hold of the flamethrower when firing, an additional folding handle is attached to its body. On the left side of the launcher tube there are instructions on how to handle the flamethrower.

As for the flamethrower shot, its design again resembles a solid-fuel unguided rocket. Eat jet engine, which uses a powder charge as solid fuel, and a capsule, which is a flamethrower warhead. The benchmark acts as a stabilizing device. In “Shmel”, for the first time in a domestic infantry weapon, the capsule principle of flame-throwing was implemented, in which a capsule with a fire mixture in a “cold” state is delivered to the target, upon impact, an ignition-explosive charge is initiated, as a result of which the fire mixture ignites, and its burning pieces scatter and hit target.

It should be especially noted that RPO-A has excellent performance characteristics, which together determine its combat capabilities. For example, the mass of the fire mixture placed in a capsule is 2.1 kg (a capsule with a smoke-forming composition contains 2.3 kg of the mixture). And despite this, the effectiveness of using a tiny flamethrower fully meets the stringent requirements of modern combat. The fact is that the fire mixture used has high ignition and combustion parameters; not a single drop is lost along the flight path. The firing range of this type of weapon is also impressive: the jet engine can easily throw a capsule with a fire mixture 1000 m.

Other combat characteristics flamethrower: weight in firing position is 11 kg, and pack weight is 22 kg. The flamethrower can be transferred from the traveling position to the combat position in 30 seconds. The pack contains incendiary and smoke containers, which complement each other very effectively in battle.

Shooting from the "Bumblebee" is carried out from the shoulder. It is not difficult to prepare the RPO-A for shooting. You just need to take the required position, fold back the front handle, cock the trigger mechanism and aim the flamethrower at the aiming point. If necessary, you can fire directly from the pack.

But of particular value and main secret flamethrower represents him combat unit thermobaric action, hidden in an elegant metal capsule. Everything else is nothing more than a disposable container for its launch. According to the principle of operation, the ammunition is similar to volumetric explosion projectiles - when the charge is triggered, a high-temperature pulse is accompanied by a sharp pressure drop. The cloud formed during the explosion of RPO-A ammunition quickly burns without detonation, when the fire mixture forms much less excess pressure, and the combustion is more extended in time than that of a conventional one explosive. The power of the thermobaric mixture is such that concrete pillboxes fly into pieces, multi-story buildings collapse, and even metal begins to burn and melt. It’s hard to believe, but a 93 mm hand-held flamethrower is comparable in high-explosive impact to a 122-155 mm artillery shell. In fact, it turns out that the infantry soldier carries on his shoulder an artillery system that is more powerful than a tank gun. The flamethrower is characterized by high firing accuracy, since in flight the ammunition is stabilized by the tail due to rotation relative to the longitudinal axis.

"Bumblebee" was used for the first time Soviet troops in Afghanistan in 1983-1984. for “smoking out” dushmans from caves and underground shelters-kariz.

There's another one interesting feature. Oxygen is instantly and completely burned out in the explosion zone over a large area. For living force this is inevitable death. But this is also “death” for fire, which requires only oxygen for combustion. This means that in the future, in a conversion version, “Bumblebee” can also be used to extinguish hard-to-reach fires.

This is an exceptionally powerful and effective infantry weapon, striking at a distance of 1000 m not only the enemy directly, who is an open target, and even one located in cover, but also enemy soldiers in neighboring premises. During an explosion, a high-temperature pulse is accompanied by a sharp pressure drop, destroying all life on an area of ​​50 m2. And in confined space, for example, in a bunker, bunker, house, the affected volume is up to 80 m. In battles in Grozny, when a shot was fired at the basement window from which fire was fired, not only the militants located directly in the targeted room were destroyed, but also in the neighboring ones communicating with it: When hit by an infantry fighting vehicle, the vehicle is simply turned upside down with its tracks - as a rule, no one from the crew survives.

IN latest model The RPO-A flamethrower, first used in Chechnya, uses combined ammunition. Its cumulative warhead, being the first to pierce an obstacle, promotes deep penetration of the main warhead, filled with a fuel-air fire mixture, inside the object, which made it possible to use rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers to destroy not only enemy personnel in shelters, firing points, buildings or on the ground, but and for the destruction of lightly armored vehicles. Moreover, in a closed volume of the fighting compartment, the explosion of a fire mixture has a much greater destructive effect, which allows high efficiency hit concrete defensive structures and lightly armored military equipment.

sources

"URA.RU" gives answers to seven simple questions: who is Givi, what versions are being considered, what does the death of the legendary commander mean, and which other legends of the “Russian Spring” are still alive?

Who is Givi?

Givi is his call sign, according to his passport he is Mikhail Tolstykh. In the “pre-Maidan” times, he served in Ukrainian army in the tank forces and, as he himself admitted, during the military conflict in the Donbass, he more than once had the opportunity to engage in battle with former colleagues.

Givi started fighting in Slavyansk. When, after Igor Strelkov’s retreat, he was transferred to another front, to his native Illovaisk, he created his own detachment from the locals, which later grew to a battalion. Givi’s fighters closed the “cauldron” in Illovaisk, liberated Nizhnyaya Krynka (a village between Donetsk and Gorlovka) and distinguished themselves during the storming of the Donetsk airport (together with the Sparta unit of another famous commander, Motorola).

Givi received his call sign for resembling a Georgian, although in fact he is not Georgian: his maternal grandfather is Ossetian, and his paternal grandfather is a Siberian (he himself spoke about this in an interview with URA.RU).

Where did the name of his battalion come from - "Somalia"?

The nickname “Somali” was given to the Givi guys by Arsen Pavlov (Motorola), who arrived in Illovaisk to help Givi. “In militia slang, this was the name given to those who, by mistake, could open fire in the direction of ‘their own’,” the correspondent recalls Life TV channel Semyon Pegov. — Times were troubled. Where they were and where they were were determined by inspiration. Givi’s subordinates were so responsible that even the well-recognized Motorola was not allowed through at checkpoints, and sometimes they pulled the gates. Everything went from there.” According to the military correspondent, Givi joked with Motorola and named his detachment “Somalia” - the name stuck.

Who was “cooler” - Givi or Motorola?

Thanks to Russian media, Givi became one of the most “star” commanders of Donbass. True, he was always somewhat less noticeable than Arsen Pavlov, but as a human being, journalists valued him more, since he was more open and easy to communicate than Motorola, spoiled by the attention of the press. “Mishka was unusually charming, everyone loved him,” says Alexander Kofman, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPR.

Why do people in the DPR mourn the death of Givi, while in Ukraine they rejoice?

Givi was extremely popular in Donetsk: the “star” commander was loved by the people, his death was a blow to many. “Givi died. They blew it up. This is not fake. I can’t believe it anyway, the horror is unreal,” Anna Dolgareva, a journalist for Reedus working in Donetsk, wrote on her page.

At the same time, many in Ukraine publicly rejoiced at the news of Givi’s death. “What a wonderful morning... Our sources in occupied Donetsk confirm the liquidation of Givi,” Zoryan Shkiryak, adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, wrote on social networks.

The joy of people on the other side of the Donbass front also has a logical explanation. “The murder of the commander of the Somalia battalion is an attempt to strike a blow at the DPR’s ability to resist an attack on the republic,” Franz Klintsevich, First Deputy of the Federation Council Committee on Security and Defense, told Life. — When the artillery batteries pulled up to the demarcation line, serious offensive things were being prepared. The fact that a terrorist attack occurred on the battalion commander indicates, first of all, that key links that can offer resistance are being knocked out.”

The other day, URA.RU reported that due to the sharp aggravation of the situation at the front and the battles in the Yasinovataya-Avdeevka area (suburbs of Donetsk), all military units of the DPR have been put on full combat readiness.

What are the main versions of the death of the Somali battalion commander?

By official version, voiced by representatives of the DPR Ministry of Defense, Mikhail Tolstykh was killed as a result of a terrorist attack carried out by a Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage group. This is quite similar to the truth: according to operational data, Givi died from the explosion of a rocket infantry flamethrower "Bumblebee" (see VIDEO of its explosion).

Ukrainian media expressed the version that Givi died as a result of artillery shelling: a shell hit his headquarters building.

Proponents of the “conspiracy theory” promote the version that Givi was removed by “their own people.” This version is supported by the fact that the explosion occurred at the battalion base. Without the help of an “infiltrated” person, this would be difficult to accomplish, and the option of some kind of “cleansing” of bright spots is supposedly more likely. field commanders Donbass authorities. True, it’s hard to believe: Givi (like Motorola) was friendly with the head of the republic, Alexander Zakharchenko. He even came to him for his birthday, after which a video of Givi dancing to Tsoi’s songs went viral.

However, an argument in favor of this version can be the murders of well-known field commanders in the neighboring Lugansk Republic, torn apart by contradictions between the LPR leadership and unit commanders. Analysts have repeatedly noted that the republic’s leadership could be most interested in eliminating the commanders. In the first case - when the commander of the Batman battalion, Alexander Bednov, was killed - the LPR Prosecutor General's Office took responsibility for what happened.

Which other famous militia commanders in Donbass were killed?

Alexander Bednov (“Batman”) opened the sad list back in 2015: his minibus, along with an escort vehicle, was burned with flamethrowers from an ambush near Lugansk. Less than a month has passed since the mayor and commandant of Pervomaisk, Evgeniy Ishchenko, died - a city in the LPR, which, due to the incessant shelling, was called the “Donbass Stalingrad”.

In May 2015, unknown persons killed, perhaps, the most legendary commander of the Lugansk militia, Alexey Mozgovoy: his car was first stopped by a mine explosion, and then shot with a machine gun. The Ukrainian sabotage group “Shadows” then took responsibility for this attack. In December 2015, as a result of a car explosion, the ataman of the Cossack regiment named after Platov, Pavel Dremov, one of the main opponents of the head of the Lugansk Republic, Plotnitsky, was killed.

Former associates of Plotnitsky, ex-Prime Minister of the LPR Gennady Tsypkalov and ex-head of parliament Alexey Koryakin, became defendants in the criminal case of the assassination attempt on Plotnitsky: Karyakin managed to leave for Russia, and Tsypkalov died in Lugansk: according to the official version of the LPR authorities, he committed suicide, while Karyakin believes that Tsypkalov died from torture during interrogation in the government building of the republic. The former press attache of the People's Militia of the LPR, Vitaly Kiselev, was detained along with him: after accusations of torture, the LPR Prosecutor General's Office posted a video of a living Kiselev.

It would seem that such “showdowns” occur only in the LPR - until Motorola, the commander of the Sparta battalion, Arsen Pavlov, was killed in Donetsk in October 2016. He was blown up in the elevator at his entrance own home when he went up to the apartment where his wife was waiting for him. DPR authorities blamed the incident on intelligence agency General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Which of the legends of the “Russian Spring” survived?

Not many people who. First of all, despite numerous injuries and assassination attempts, the heads of Lugansk and Donetsk are alive people's republics Igor Plotnitsky and Alexander Zakharchenko. Former DPR Defense Minister Igor Strelkov is in Moscow, former head Lugansk Republic Valery Bolotov also lived in the capital of the Russian Federation, but died in January 2017 (according to a preliminary version, from a heart attack).

Today we can state that there are almost none of the bright, famous military commanders left in Donbass. In the picture, which is being distributed on social networks by radical opponents of the LPR and DPR in Ukraine, there are only three uncrossed portraits left: Igor Plotnitsky, Alexander Zakharchenko and the commander of the DPR special forces reconnaissance company with the call sign Olkhon.

In Ukraine, people who hate the DPR and LPR are playing “ten little Indians”
Photo: from Peter Anuprienko’s page on social networks

Today at dawn personal account terrorist Mikhail Tolstykh, better known as "Givi", an explosion occurred. After the fire that broke out as a result of the explosion, the body of a militant was found in the room.

"The Ministry of Defense of the DPR has traditionally been accused of this Ukrainian security forces. The separatists reported that Givi was eliminated as a result of an attack from a Shmel infantry flamethrower.

The Shmel disposable flamethrower is designed to destroy hidden enemy firing points. After the shot, a volumetric explosion of the fuel-air mixture occurs, which burns out all living things in an area of ​​up to 80 cubic meters. m.

By nationality - separatist

Mikhail Tolstykh was born on July 19, 1980 in the city of Ilovaisk Donetsk region. He said that he has Georgian roots. However, I had never been to Georgia and did not speak the Georgian language.

He took the nickname “Givi” while serving in the Ukrainian army, in honor of his grandfather, who fought during World War II. Served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the late 90s, in training center"Gum".

Returning from the army in 2000, he moved to Kremenchug, where he worked at a factory. However, due to his mother’s illness, he was subsequently forced to return to Ilovaisk.

Tolstoy was proud that he was born in such a great “country” as Donbass.

The rejection of Ukrainians in “Givi” arose when on the Maidan they began to “burn Berkut members who were not guilty of anything for no reason.”

The terrorist said that he “has always been on the side of Russia.” He called Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky his political idols.

“I believe that these are very brave and self-confident people,” said Givi.

Favorite commander of “Novorossiya”

The combat path of “Givi” began immediately after the victory of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv. In one of the interviews, the terrorist said that on May 1, 2014, “he was already in Slavyansk, where he supported the young republic.” He did not go there to fight, but “to defend his country.”

According to information military prosecutor's office Ukraine, in the period from May 2014 to January 2015, while in Slavyansk, Ilovaisk and Donetsk, as the leader of “Somalia”, he organized and personally carried out armed attacks on ATO fighters, and also behaved harshly and used torture against captured military personnel APU.

“Givi” was threatened with imprisonment for a term of 8 to 15 years.

The terrorist said that after Slavyansk he was in Yampol, where he was surrounded. Where did they “miracle come from?” Then there was Semyonovka, a “difficult departure” from Slavyansk with big loss technology. After this, “Givi” retreated to Donetsk, where he helped terrorists from the “Vostok” gang to storm the Donetsk airport.

Subsequently, by order of Strelkov, “Givi” entered the combined brigade of the “Tsar”, from where he ended up in Ilovaisk. The battles for his native Ilovaisk, which ended in a large-scale “cauldron” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, made “Givi” popular.

Bullying of cyborgs

“Givi” became famous in the Ukrainian information space after the publication in January 2015 of a video of cruel abuse of Ukrainian cyborgs. So, the prisoners were forced to kneel, “Givi” personally cut off the shoulder straps of each “cyborg” and forced him to eat them.

The terrorist commander beat the prisoners and mocked them.

Relations with Zakharchenko

Tolstykh first met the leader of the “DPR” Alexander Zakharchenko in 2014. The separatist at first actively supported and constantly praised the leader’s policies.

According to unconfirmed reports, in October 2016, Givi’s relations with Zakharchenko and his inner circle worsened. This was caused by Givi’s constant attempts to protest or sabotage the orders of the DPR leadership regarding the actions of the gang it leads.

Zakharchenko was irritated by the fact that the commander of "Somalia", sabotaging his orders, clearly demonstrated loyalty to the Russian "curators".

Liquidation of “Givi”

They wanted “Givi” to die for a long time. The first reports of its liquidation appeared back in 2014. The attempts to kill Givi in ​​March 2015 and April 2016 received the greatest resonance. In the first case, in the Makeevka area, unknown persons fired at his car while he was driving to a position at the Donetsk airport. A year later, unknown people tried to blow up the car where Givi was supposed to be located.

In the summer of 2015, it was reported that the terrorist died as a result of being wounded after a shell from the 95th brigade hit the militants’ headquarters near Donetsk. But later it turned out that it was not Tolstykh who died, but his deputy with the call sign “Nightmare”.

On January 31, People's Deputy Yevgeny Deydey reported rumors about the wounding of a terrorist under the call sign "Givi" - Mikhail Tolstykh, the leader of the "Somalia" battalion.

In his last video message on February 3, “Givi” spoke about the injury he received in the industrial zone of Avdeevka. He was mocked by the Ukrainian media, which reported that the terrorist had shot himself in the leg.

In three days of fighting, he lost “four of his best fighters.”