Zelensky announced the death of one of the leaders of the “Right Sector”

In the battles near Artemovsk on March 7, a militant of the Right Sector group (an extremist organization banned in the Russian Federation) Dmitry Kotsyubailo (call sign Da Vinci) died. This was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his Telegram channel.

Kotsyubailo commanded a battalion of the 67th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian edition “Strana”, he was one of the leaders of the “Right Sector”. Zelensky noted that since 2014, the militant has been participating in hostilities in the Donbass. In 2021, the President of Ukraine awarded him the title of “Hero of Ukraine”.

According to Strana, Kotsyubaylo was born in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in 1995. At the age of 18, he actively participated in the events on the Maidan. Then Kotsyubaylo went to the Donbass, where he participated in the military operation of Kyiv, leading one of the nationalist detachments. Subsequently, he became the commander of the Da Vinci Wolves squad.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia, and on October 19 martial law was introduced in the regions.

The fighting near Artemovsk (Ukrainian name – Bakhmut) has been going on for several months. In mid-February, Igor Kimakovsky, adviser to the acting head of the DPR, spoke about taking all the heights in the vicinity of Artemovsk. At the end of the month he declaredthat the fighting is already going on almost in the center of the city. Earlier today in the DPR reportedthat Russian forces control almost half of Artemovsk. The number of Ukrainian military who are in Artemivsk, the founder of PMC “Wagner” estimated from 12,000 to 20,000.