Russian PMC Redut commander killed in Ukraine
In late January, Redut, a Russian private military company, lost its commander in Ukraine. He was killed by a Ukrainian landmine in Kherson region, according to reports by Russian news outlet Mash.
"One of the first assault troops involved in preparing the operation to capture 'Tsar's Hunt' builing perished near Kherson. He did not live to receive his medal and breakthrough Ukrainian defenses — during the storming of a fortified area, Pavel was killed by a mine," Mash reported.
Colonel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Anatoliy Stefan, known by his nom de guerre Shtirlits, confirmed the death in Ukraine of 36-year-old Pavel Frolov, commander of the Russian armed formation Redut, which is staffed by mercenaries and overseen by the Russian GRU.
"The commander of the volunteer battalion 'Redut,' Pavel Frolov [with the callsign] 'Pioneer,' has been successfully demobilized. Death to the enemies!" noted Anatoliy Stefan.
The Russia PMC Redut has been taking active part in combat actions in Ukraine, in the territories of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Kharkiv and has also conducted reconnaissance activities prior to the beginning of the aggressive war against Ukraine. It is also linked to attempts on the life of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Redut mercenaries have been accused of torturing and murdering civilians in Ukraine. On 10, 2023, the Ukrainian Security Service reported the detention of a Russian special operations group of four people, including two members of the Russian Armed Forces' 16th Special Purpose Brigade and two fighters from PMC Redut. The captives confessed to their involvement in the torture of civilians in the town of Borova. At the crime scene, at the 'Svet Shakhtera' holiday resort base, police discovered a torture pit containing the bodies of two men showing signs of torture. According to the Ukrainian National Police, in the same pit, a veteran of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, Sergei Avdeev, was tortured to death.
It's worth noting that on January 26, the BBC reported that the Russian Armed Forces had managed to push the Defense Forces out of their positions in the 'Tsar's Hunt' area and engage in battles on the southern outskirts of the city.
On January 29, the head of the Avdiivka city military-civil administration, Vitaliy Barabash, reported that Ukrainian defenders had recaptured the 'Tsar's Hunt' restaurant complex from the enemy.