Political consultant and officer of the Russian army Igor Mangushev, known for speaking from the stage last summer, holding, according to him, the skull of a murdered Ukrainian soldier, was seriously wounded in the head in the Luhansk region under unclear circumstances.
This was reported in the telegram channel of Mangushev himself, as well as in a number of other Russian telegram channels covering the war in Ukraine. Telegram channels have published photos of the allegedly wounded Mangushev in the hospital. The RIA Novosti agency and other Russian and Ukrainian media also write about his injury.
He was allegedly taken to the neurosurgery center in the city of Stakhanov (located in the Russian-controlled territory of the Lugansk region, the official Ukrainian name is Kadievka) with a blind gunshot wound to the head. The condition is assessed as “stably severe, with a negative trend.”
It is alleged that Mangushev was not wounded in battle. According to the telegram channel “MIG”, this happened at a checkpoint near Stakhanov, Mangushev was allegedly shot from a pistol at close range. Who could shoot him and why is not yet clear.
A video of Mangushev’s performance with a skull in his hands was distributed in August last year. In his speech, Mangushev said that Russia is fighting “with the idea of Ukraine as an anti-Russian state” and “all carriers of this idea must be destroyed.” He also said that he did not care how many and how to kill Ukrainian soldiers. According to him, the skull belonged to a Ukrainian who was killed during the storming of Mariupol; this claim has not been verified.
After the publication of the video, the Ukrainian authorities officially appealed to the UN. Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets noted that the video of Mangushev’s speech is another proof of Russia’s violation of international humanitarian law.
- Mangushev was called by the Russian media one of the founders of the private military company “E.N.O.T.” (“United People’s Communal Partnerships”) and a political strategist close to the creator of “Wagner PMC” Yevgeny Prigozhin.
- Members of “E.N.O.T.” participated in hostilities in eastern Ukraine and Syria, as well as in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In 2019, the Investigative Committee of Russia accused eight mercenaries from PMCs of creating a criminal community, robbery and extortion. One of the leaders of the criminal group, Roman Telenkevich, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
- Now telegram channels call Mangushev the captain of the Russian army. By himself, he spoke as the commander of the anti-drone unit of the so-called “LPR” People’s Militia.
