Lieutenant Colonel
Mikhail Tolstykh |
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Nickname(s)
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"Givi"
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Born
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July 19, 1980
Ilovaisk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
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Allegiance
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Ukraine (1998-2000)
Donetsk
People's Republic (2014–present)
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Service/branch
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Ukrainian
Ground Forces (1998-2000)
United Armed Forces of Novorossiya (2014–present) |
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Years of
service
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1998–2000
2014–present |
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Rank
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Unit
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Somalia Battalion
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Battles/wars
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War in Donbass |
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INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Tolstykh
Mikhail Sergeyevich Tolstykh (Russian: Михаи́л
Серге́евич Толсты́х),
better known by his callsign Givi (Ги́ви), is a commander in the
pro-Russian separatist "Somali Battalion" (Russian: Батальон
Сомали) in the War in Donbass. In an online interview,
Givi claimed that he is from Ilovaisk and served in
the Ukrainian Army
from 1998 to 2000 before working at a sling rope factory. He is 36 as of July
2016; his civilian name is Mikhail Tolstykh. In an interview he stated that his
great-grandfather was an ethnic Georgian.
He
joined the separatists in the early stages of the war and was involved in the Battle of Ilovaisk.
Givi led separatists in the Second
Battle of Donetsk Airport. He received widespread fame in October
2014 when a video of him ignoring a rocket artillery strike landing near enough
to him for shrapnel to fall at his feet was uploaded to YouTube and gained over 1,000,000 views.
On
February 16, 2015, Mikhail Tolstykh was included by the European Council in the sanctions list.
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Givi briefing his comradres.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CevrjoHW4AAjFCK.jpg]
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Mistreatment
of prisoners
In
January 2015, several videos surfaced of Tolstykh physically abusing prisoners
captured at the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.
Tolstykh is seen clearly identifying himself before grabbing the prisoners by
the face, brandishing a dagger, and cutting off military insignia and forcing
them into the prisoners' mouths. Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Kiev-based
Center for Civil Liberties, calls what appears in the videos "flagrant
violations of the Geneva Conventions" and says she is
preparing the groundwork for prosecution.
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From the left: Serb (Rusich), Givi (Somali),
Slavyan (Rusich), unknown warrior
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Commander Givi in his office
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Commander Givi and his Somalia Battalion
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Commander Givi and his Somalia Battalion in
training
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Commander Givi and comrades
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