Vladimir Andonov
Vladimir "the Executioner" Andonov (1978 - 2022) was a Russian mercenary and part of the infamous mercenary group Wagner Group who took part in the War in Donbass, and later the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Andonov was born in 1978 in the Russian province of Buryatia. The Sun reports that he enlisted in Wagner Group in 1997. His first known military service was in 2014, where he volunteered to join the War in Donbass after hearing reports of rioting and arson in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. In 2015, Andonov was among the Russian troops who captured the town of Logvinovo. Shortly afterwards, three prisoners of war (Oleksandr Berdes, Vasiliy Demchuk, and Pavlo Plotsinskiy) were murdered by the Russians and buried in a shallow grave. Several media sources have named Andonov as the killer. He also fought in the Battle of Debaltseve, one of the final significant battles of the initial conflict, and was awarded a medal for his service.
Following the end of the Donbass War, Andonov returned to Russia in 2017 and was not heard from until Wagner Group were deployed to fight in Libya and Syria to aid Russian forces. According to witnesses, Andonov was present during a 2021 massacre in the Libyan town of Espia, and personally shot at least one family.
In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and Wagner Group were deployed to aid the troops, with Andonov being deployed to the region of Kharkiv. In June of that year, Andonov was doing nighttime reconnaissance in the area when a Ukrainian sniper shot and killed him. Another soldier was also killed alongside him. The Russian media confirmed Andonov's death the next day.
Trivia edit
- According to Andonov, his grandfather served in World War II.