Mikhail Tolstykh
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Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Tolstykh |
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|---|---|
Givi during the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.
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| Nickname(s) | "Givi" |
| Born |
July 19, 1980 Ilovaisk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | February 8, 2017 (aged 36) Donetsk, Ukraine |
| Allegiance |
 Ukraine (1998–2000) Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) (2014–2017)
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| Service/branch |
 Ukrainian Ground Forces (1998–2000) Novorossiya Armed Forces (2014–2017)
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| Years of service | 1998–2000; 2014–2017 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Commands held |
 Somalia Battalion
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| Battles/wars | |
Mikhail Sergeyevich Tolstykh (Ukrainian: Михайло Сергійович Толстих, Russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Толсты́х; July 19, 1980 – February 8, 2017), better known by his callsign Givi (Ги́ви), was a commander of the pro-Russian Somalia Battalion in the War in Donbass.
In his interview to Komsomolskaya Pravda and other Russian mass-media, Tolstykh claimed that he was from Ilovaisk and served in the Ukrainian Army from 1998 to 2000 before working at a sling rope factory and as a rent-a-guard in a supermarket (although Tolstykh said he had speech impediment which barred him from serving in the Ukrainian army). In an interview he stated that his great-grandfather was an ethnic Georgian.
Tolstykh joined the rebels in the early stages of the war and was involved in the Battle of Ilovaisk. Givi led the DPR Somalia Battalion in the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport.The Telegraph wrote a brief article about him where he gives interview to Novorossiya TV, during which an explosion took place supposedly in close vicinity.
On February 16, 2015, Tolstykh was included by the European Council in their sanctions list. In 2016, he was charged in Ukraine with crimes including the creation of a terrorist organization, abduction, and abuse of prisoners of war.
In January 2015, several videos surfaced of Tolstykh physically abusing prisoners captured at the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport. Tolstykh is seen clearly identifying himself before grabbing the prisoners by the face, brandishing a dagger, and cutting off military insignia and forcing them into the prisoners' mouths. Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Kiev-based Center for Civil Liberties, calls what appears in the videos "flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions" and says she is preparing the groundwork for prosecution.
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