Russian activist Ildar Dadin, fighting for Ukraine, killed in Kharkiv region
Russian activist Ildar Dadin, who fought under the call sign "Gandhi" for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has died in the Kharkiv region. This was confirmed on Sunday, October 6, by former Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who resides in Ukraine. Ponomarev is linked to the "Freedom of Russia Legion," a group composed of Russians fighting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"From the start of the war, he tried to reach the front lines to fight against Putinism. Initially, the Freedom of Russia Legion did not accept him, so Ildar joined the Siberian battalion," Ponomarev noted on Facebook. According to him, Dadin switched to the Freedom of Russia Legion in December 2023.
"Gandhi did not live to see our victory, but I am confident that the criminal charge [named after him] will be repealed, and Russian cities will have streets named after Ildar Dadin," stated Ponomarev. He pledged to provide more details once military operations in the area conclude.
The Freedom of Russia Legion's press office declined to comment on Dadin’s death until the ongoing operation has concluded. However, a source within the Legion confirmed the information to The Insider.
The previous evening, journalist Kseniya Larina posted on social network X about Dadin’s death in the Kharkiv region. She later clarified to the Telegram channel SOTA that the information came from former Gazprombank Vice President Igor Volobuev, also fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Volobuev learned about Dadin’s death from his comrade, Larina added.
Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin became the first Russian convicted under a 2014 law on repeated violations of protest regulations, an article later dubbed the "Dadin law". In December 2015, he was sentenced to three years in a penal colony, later reduced by six months. His account of torture in detention drew significant attention. Dadin was freed in February 2017, and in 2023, he moved to Ukraine to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In an interview with “Mediazona,” he explained that he was "initially against violence," but currently sees no viable path in non-violent resistance against Putin’s regime. "I must confront Russia’s crimes – murders, torture, rapes, plundering. The extreme form to halt killers is to kill the killer. If I don’t stop mass killings, I become complicit,” the activist asserted.