Aleksey Mozgovoy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aleksey Mozgovoy
Birth name	Aleksey Borisovich Mozgovoy
Born	(1975-04-03)3 April 1975 Nyzhnia Duvanka, Svatove Raion, Voroshilovgrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	23 May 2015(2015-05-23) (aged 40) near Mykhailivka, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine
Allegiance	Ukraine  Lugansk People's Republic
Service/branch	Ukrainian Armed Forces Novorossiya Armed Forces
Years of service	1992–1998 (Ukraine) 2014–2015 (Novorossiya)
Rank	Senior sergeant (Ukraine) Kombrig (Novorossiya)
Unit	Prizrak Brigade
Battles/wars	Russo-Ukrainian war War in Donbas Siege of Sloviansk Battle of Debaltseve

Aleksey Borisovich Mozgovoy (Russian: Алексе́й Бори́сович Мозгово́й, Ukrainian: Олексі́й Бори́сович Мозгови́й, romanized: Oleksii Borysovych Mozghovyi; 3 April 1975 – 23 May 2015) was a military commander in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine. He was the leader of a pro-Russian military group called the Prizrak Brigade. He also served as a "judge" in a "People's Court."

Mozgovoy was killed in 2015 in the Donbas region.

Who Was Aleksey Mozgovoy?

Aleksey Mozgovoy was born in a village called Nizhnyaya Duvanka. This village is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the Luhansk Oblast region. He grew up in the nearby town of Svatove. While growing up, he was part of a local choir known as the Svatove Cossacks.

Before the conflict began in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Mozgovoy worked as a cook. He was a guest worker in Saint Petersburg, a large city in Russia.

His Role in the Conflict

In 2014, when fighting started in eastern Ukraine, Aleksey Mozgovoy became a military commander. He led a group known as "Prizrak," which means Ghost. This group was also sometimes called the Antratsyt Cossacks.

Mozgovoy worked with Igor Girkin, who was a defense minister for the Donetsk People's Republic. Mozgovoy was known for having disagreements with other rebel leaders in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). He also had contact with political leaders from Russia, like Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Sergei Mironov.

Before he died, Mozgovoy's Prizrak brigade faced problems getting supplies. This was because he did not want to join the official LPR government structure. His group became much smaller, going from 3,000 fighters to only a few hundred.

His Political Plans

Aleksey Mozgovoy and two of his friends, Andrey Kozlov and Anna Samelyuk, decided to get involved in politics. With help from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), they tried to register a new political party. They called it Narodnoye vozrozhdeniye, which means "National Renewal."

They sent their application to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. They did this because there was no clear legal way to register political parties in the LPR at that time. Ukraine's Ministry of Justice received their application on May 5, 2015. It was accepted by May 8. This made it the first and only political party from the rebel areas that Ukraine officially recognized. This was important for the Minsk II peace agreement.

On May 8, 2015, an international meeting was held in Alchevsk, a city in the LPR. About 100 people attended, including members of the OSCE. By that evening, news of the new political party had spread widely. However, the next day, LPR authorities did not allow Mozgovoy to hold a May 9 Victory Day parade.

How Did He Die?

Aleksey Mozgovoy was killed on Saturday, May 23, 2015. His group was attacked while driving on a road between Luhansk and Alchevsk. This happened near the village of Mykhailivka. First, a bomb exploded by the road, and then people were shot with machine guns.

Mozgovoy, his press secretary Anna Samelyuk, a driver, and six bodyguards all died in the attack. Mozgovoy had survived a similar attack in the same area two months earlier. People said he did not worry much about threats to his life.

The LPR press service said the attack was done by unknown "saboteurs." Other leaders from the Prizrak Brigade said that Ukrainian special forces were responsible. They asked their supporters not to spread false rumors. Some people, including a Ukrainian official, believed Russian special forces were involved. Many of Mozgovoy's supporters thought that Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the LPR, was responsible for his death.

On May 23, 2016, a statue of Mozgovoy was put up in Alchevsk, Ukraine, to remember him.

See also