A lethal mercenary for Vladimir Putin known as "The Executioner" was reported killed by a Ukrainian sniper in Kharkiv last week.
Vladimir Andonov, 44, believed to be a member of Putin's Wagner Group, a private army group, was alleged to have slaughtered prisoners of war and civilians, the New York Post reported.
"He was killed overnight during a reconnaissance of the area, along with a comrade, presumably at the hands of a sniper," according to a Telegram post Sunday.
There was a Russia missile strike in the same town Andonov, who went by the code name "Vaha," was reportedly killed, according to the Post.
Andonov became infamously known as The Executioner after the 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea, volunteering for Putin's Wagner Group from the Republic of Buryatia, according to Russian newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets.
That same newspaper reported Zhambal-Zhamso Zhanaev, Russian chief of the Trans-Baikal Territory in Buryatia, confirmed his death and that the body was being brought home for burial.
"Peacemaker," Ukraine's database cataloging Russian war crimes, alleged Andonov killed prisoners of war in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the Post reported.
Andonov was awarded two medals for valor while fighting with Putin's secret force and has also fought in Libya and Syria.
The Russian military has lost 12 generals and at least 50 colonels, according Western media reports, including Major Gen. Roman Kutuzov and Lt. Gen. Roman Brednikov, reportedly killed in the Donbas region.
In past media reports, Andonov said he volunteered to fight in the Donbas because his grandfather fought there in World War II.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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