Evgeny Pisarenko, the commander of the Chechen special forces unit “Akhmat”, a group that supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recently signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, was killed in a battle in Donbas, reports Ukrainian Pravda and Tasse.

“My countryman was great (great), he served in the Stavropol riot police, he received the rank of colonel. When the special operation (the Russian war in Ukraine) began, he went to the front as a volunteer to protect the people of Donbas,” said the commander of the Chechen special forces “Akhmat” Apti Alaudinov.

The date of Pysarenko’s death has not been specified.

The “Akhmat” battalion has been participating in hostilities in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

“Thank you to the parents who raised such a hero. Yevgeny Valeryovich Pisarenko – may God protect you and rest in peace,” Alaudinov wrote.

The Russian Ministry of Defense recently signed a contract with the Akhmat paramilitary group, often referred to as Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s private army.

The signing followed an order that all “volunteer units” must sign contracts by July 1 that would place them under Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as Moscow seeks to assert its control over private armies fighting on its behalf in Ukraine.

Unlike Prigozhin, Kadyrov has recently refrained from criticizing the Ministry of Defense. Members of both factions openly quarreled, and one of Kadyrov’s close associates called Prigozhin a blogger who shouts about problems all the time.

Akhmat commander Apti Alaudinov, who participated in the signing of the contract, said that over the past 15 months, the unit “trained and sent tens of thousands of volunteers” to Ukraine.

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