Alexander Bednov

Alexander Bednov
Alexander Bednov
	Bednov in October 2014
Minister of Defence of the Luhansk People's Republic
	In office; 20 August 2014 – 26 August 2014
President	Igor Plotnitsky
Prime Minister	Igor Plotnitsky
Preceded by	Igor Plotnitsky
Succeeded by	Oleg Bugrov
Personal details
Born	Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bednov; 29 August 1969; Luhansk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	1 January 2015 (aged 45); Lutuhyne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine
Nickname	Batman
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union; Ukraine; Luhansk People's Republic
Branch/service	Militsiya
Unit	Batman Rapid Response Group
Battles/wars	War in Donbas

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bednov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бедно́в, Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович Бєдно́в; 29 August 1969 – 1 January 2015) was a former Soviet and Ukrainian militsiya officer and rebel commander of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic in Ukraine.^[1] He was the leader of the pro-Russian Batman Rapid Response Group. He was assassinated in Luhansk, with a debate among his supporters on who was responsible^[2] although on the day of his killing LPR "prosecutor's office" issued an official statement confirming "liquidation" of Bednov as "a head of a criminal organization".^[3]

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.^[4] LPR "prosecutor's office" described the attack as an "arrest attempt" in relation to a criminal investigation against Bednov started on 30 Demember 2014.^[3]

Members of the group said that the attack was ordered by head of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky.^[4] According to them, Bednov and his fighters were shot and killed "by order of Plotnitsky" because he was "ordered to sweep all intransigent commanders."^[5] Following this attack, the LPR arrested some of Bednov's men, and dissolved the battalion.^[6] Some of its personnel were dispersed into other LPR units, while Donetsk People's Republic field commanders Givi and Motorola invited former members to join their battalions.^[6]

After Bednov's assassination, Igor Girkin criticized the killing as a "murder" and "gangster ambush", and suggested that other commanders seriously consider leaving Donbas to Russia, as he did.^[7]

Notes

^
At the time of his death, Lutuhyne was part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

References

^ "Главарь банды "Бэтмен" раньше был вышибалой в луганском ночном клубе (+видео) - СЛЕД.net.ua". sled.net.ua. Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
^ Orlando Crowcroft (4 June 2015). "Ukraine crisis: Who killed rebel leaders Alexei Mozgovoy and Alexandr 'Batman' Bednov?". International Business Times. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Луганский Информационный Центр – Сотрудники спецслужб ЛНР уничтожили главаря бандгруппы "Бэтмена" и задержали его опасных подельников". lug-info.com (in Russian). 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
^ ^a ^b Eugene Volokh (January 2, 2015). "Batman killed in the Ukraine, allegedly on orders from The Carpenter". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ "В Луганске убит обвиняемый в пытках командир ополченцев "Бэтмен"". РБК. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Secessionist Forces in Luhansk 'Republic': Order out of Chaos?". ICDS. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^ Игорь Стрелков призвал сепаратистов последовать его примеру [Igor Strelkov called separatists to follow his example] (in Russian). TV Rain. 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2015-01-04.

[cnote_a] 
At the time of his death, Lutuhyne was part of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic.

[1] "Главарь банды "Бэтмен" раньше был вышибалой в луганском ночном клубе (+видео) - СЛЕД.net.ua". sled.net.ua. Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-09-03.

[2] Orlando Crowcroft (4 June 2015). "Ukraine crisis: Who killed rebel leaders Alexei Mozgovoy and Alexandr 'Batman' Bednov?". International Business Times. Retrieved 3 September 2018.

[:0-3] "Луганский Информационный Центр – Сотрудники спецслужб ЛНР уничтожили главаря бандгруппы "Бэтмена" и задержали его опасных подельников". lug-info.com (in Russian). 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2023-02-08.

[Batman-4] Eugene Volokh (January 2, 2015). "Batman killed in the Ukraine, allegedly on orders from The Carpenter". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[5] "В Луганске убит обвиняемый в пытках командир ополченцев "Бэтмен"". РБК. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.

[ICDS_2-6] "Secessionist Forces in Luhansk 'Republic': Order out of Chaos?". ICDS. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

[7] Игорь Стрелков призвал сепаратистов последовать его примеру [Igor Strelkov called separatists to follow his example] (in Russian). TV Rain. 2015-01-03. Retrieved 2015-01-04.

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