Ayk Gasparyan, the commander of the volunteer battalion “ArBat” with the call sign “Abrek,” went to war with the Russian Armed Forces and was killed after three years of fighting. “Abrek” had been imprisoned for robbery and was due to serve seven years, but went on to receive a state honor from President Vladimir Putin. What distinguished a convicted criminal who began his path in Russia and ended his days on the front in Ukraine?
Gasparyan, a Russian volunteer of Armenian origin, was carrying out a combat mission against Ukrainian forces and did not survive, the defense-focused outlet “Militarnyi” reported. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but there is information about his activities harmful to Ukraine and Armenia: in both countries the “activist” acted in the interests of Russia and other criminal groups.
The incident was reported on a Telegram post by the so-called “mayor” of occupied Horlivka, the outlet found. The information appeared on the morning of February 9. The post said the commander of the ArBat special-purpose battalion, Ayk “Abrek,” had been killed.
Militarnyi noted that “ArBat” was part of the assault unit “Pyatnashka” of the Russian Armed Forces. The unit was created in 2022 by crime boss Armen Sarkisyan, known as “Gorlovsky.” Gasparyan, previously convicted of robbery and other crimes, became the commander of “ArBat.” The outlet also reported that the mercenary fought near Soledar and Bakhmut with the Wagner private military company and, in 2023, received the Order of Courage, which was presented to him personally by Putin.
Russian media wrote about Ayk Gasparyan, who was killed in the war in Ukraine while serving with Russia’s army. It emerged he was a former MMA fighter and convicted felon who, at the start of the war, was in a Ryazan prison on an armed robbery charge and was to serve seven years. When Wagner’s then-owner Yevgeny Prigozhin began recruiting volunteers, Gasparyan signed up and fought in Donetsk region. The BBC also noted he not only joined Wagner, but recorded recruitment videos for inmates, assuring them they would not be deceived and that they were supposedly fighting like ordinary mobilized soldiers rather than as “cannon fodder.”
The convict Gasparyan appeared during an awards ceremony in January 2023. The ceremony was conducted by Putin, who traveled to the Southern Military District. Media noted that the order went to a man who had been imprisoned for robbery and sought to steal 300,000 rubles.
In February 2025, the Telegram channel Baza wrote about Gasparyan and his patron Sarkisyan. The post followed an explosion at a high-rise in Moscow’s Alye Parusa residential complex that seriously wounded Sarkisyan. Journalists found a photo of both men receiving a church blessing for the war against Ukrainians.
Other prominent Russian figures have been killed on the Russia-Ukraine front. In October 2025, for example, reports emerged that Russian propagandist Ivan Zuev had been killed.
