Background
A Russian citizen, Pavlov was born in Ukhta, Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Arsenio Pavlov
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The wedding was attended by Igor Girkin and Pavel Gubarev.
Career
Previously he was a car cleaner in Russia and it was his main source of income, before he went to Ukraine. On March 16, 2014, he participated in protests in Kharkiv, Ukraine that called for Russia"s intervention. He was caught on camera in video footage of the events by the city"s internet news publisher.
Calling himself "Motorola", he became the leader of the Sparta Battalion, a pro-Russian armed group fighting in the war in Donbass against the Ukrainian government.
He declared the region to be "Russian land". Pavlov led his battalion in both the Battle of Ilovaisk and the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.
The government of Ukraine placed him on its wanted list for the creation of illegal paramilitary and military formations (Article 260, part 5). In February 2015, the European Union added him to its list of sanctioned individuals.
On October 2, 2014 Pavlov threatened to go to Poland after the plane of Russian defense minister was not allowed to fly over Polish airspace on August 29, 2014.
In April 2015, the Kyiv Post released a recording in which a man alleged to be Pavlov discussed killing fifteen Ukrainian prisoners of war. Amnesty International said it was a "chilling ‘confession’", which alongside other evidence, "highlights the urgent need for an independent investigation into this and all other allegations of abuses". After Ukrainian soldier Ihor Branovytsky had been captured near Donetsk and was in custody of Pavlovs group, Pavlov is accused to have deliberately killed the prisoner on 21 January 2015 with two headshots.
