In battles in Luhansk
Reports: Russian skull molester suffers headshot
2/4/2023, 7:31 p.m
A Russian mercenary who appeared with the supposed skull of an Azovstal defender last year is said to have suffered a serious injury in Luhansk. According to media reports, he was shot in the back of the head.
Russian mercenary Igor Mangushev, best known for his bizarre performance, has reportedly been shot in the head. This is reported by several media, including the Russian tabloid “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, citing relevant telegram channels. Accordingly, Mangushev, who is said to be close to Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, took part in fighting in the Ukrainian Luhansk Oblast and suffered the headshot at close range.
Particularly explosive: Mangushev attracted attention with an appearance last year. A video circulated on Twitter of a supporter of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin holding up a skull on a stage and claiming it was the remains of a Ukrainian soldier who was killed in Mariupol. At the time, ntv.de reported, citing a Ukrainian journalist, that it was Mangushev. The Russian tabloid “Moskovsky Komsomolets” has now illustrated its latest report with a picture of Mangushev, which apparently comes from that performance.
During his bizarre performance, Mangushev went on to say that Russia is not at war with people of flesh and blood, but with the “idea” of Ukraine as an anti-Russian state. “There can be no peace. We must de-Ukrainize Ukraine.” If Russia were at war with people, there could be peace. “But we are at war against an idea, so all the bearers of the idea must be killed.”
Doctors assess the condition as serious
As the Moscow newspaper reports, Mangushev is said to have been shot in the head at close range with a short-barreled weapon. The medium also reports, citing Telegram channels, that Mangushev is currently in the intensive care unit of the neurosurgical department in Stakhanov (Russian name of the city of Kadiivka in Luhansk) and doctors assessed his condition as serious. The incident should be investigated.
Various media such as “Nexta” show pictures of a wounded man in hospital, believed to be Mangushev. “Russian neo-Nazi Igor Mangushev, who appeared with the skull of a Azovstal defender, was seriously injured in the back of his head in the Luhansk region,” Nexta tweeted. The information came from pro-Russian telegram channels, it said.
The Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol was heavily contested for several weeks at the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Among the Ukrainian fighters holed up there were many from the Azov regiment, an elite unit that is now part of the Ukrainian National Guard and is itself controversial. In May, the last Ukrainian defenders surrendered to Russian forces.