The commander of the Armenian ArBat battalion, former Wagnerite Hayk Gasparyan, died in the war in Ukraine.

In the war against Ukraine, a member of the Russian army, commander of the “Armenian Battalion” (“ArBat”), Hayk “Abrek” Gasparyan, died. This was reported by the occupation head of Gorlovka, Donetsk region, Ivan Prikhodko and Z-blogger Vladislav Zizdok .

According to them, Gasparyan died today, February 9, while performing a combat mission. Other details of his death have not been disclosed.

Hayk Gasparyan was born in Karabakh. He was convicted in Russia for armed robbery. While serving his sentence in a colony, he was recruited by the Wagner PMC, and he went to war against Ukraine. Later, Vladimir Putin personally presented Gasparyan with the medal “For Courage”.

In 2022, crime boss from the Donetsk region Armen Sarkisyan founded the Armenian volunteer battalion “ArBat” and began training fighters to participate in the war against Ukraine. In 2023, Hayk Gasparyan became the battalion commander.

Sargsyan died in February 2025 as a result of an explosion in the Scarlet Sails residential complex in Moscow. According to media reports , the attack could have been carried out by a suicide bomber. The Investigative Committee considered the redistribution of spheres of influence related to his business interests as a priority version of Sargsyan’s murder.