Lieutenant colonel

Alexander Khodakovsky
Native name
Александр Сергеевич Ходаковский
Born (1972-12-18) December 18, 1972
Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Russia
 Donetsk People's Republic
 Ukraine (formerly)
Service/branch Vostok Battalion (from May 2014)
Security Service of Ukraine
RankLieutenant colonel
Battles/wars
Other workDonetsk People's Republic Deputy Prime Minister (May – July 2014)
Donetsk People's Republic Security Minister (May 2014–2016[1])

Alexander Sergeevich Khodakovsky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ходако́вский, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ xədɐˈkofskʲɪj]) is the commander of the Russian separatist militia, the Vostok Battalion, which formed in early May 2014 during the 2014 insurgency in Donbas.

Biography

Khodakovsky is a former commander of Ukraine's Alpha special unit of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). During the 2014 insurgency in Donbas, he defected and became the leader of the pro-Russian "Patriotic Forces of Donbas" in Donetsk Oblast, and later (until July 16, 2014, when he was replaced by Vladimir Antyufeyev[2]) the Security Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic.[3] On 19 August 2014, reports began to emerge that Khodakovsky had been arrested by law enforcement agencies.[4] It was later clarified by the Interior Ministry that it was Semyon Khodakovsky, a junior rebel commander, that had been detained.[5] In May 2018, Khodakovsky relocated to Russia, and in September 2018, he claimed that Russian border guards did not let him return to Donetsk.[6][7]

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

On July 23, 2014, the international news agency Reuters reported Khodakovsky had in an interview confirmed that pro-Russian rebels had obtained a Buk missile system, which they used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and then "probably" sent it back to Russia to remove proof of its presence.[8][9]

This Reuters interview was quickly disputed by another rebel leader, Alexander Borodai.[10] And Khodakovsky quickly denied having told Reuters that separatists possessed Buk missiles when the Malaysia airliner crashed in the region: "We were discussing theories but one simple phrase was cutting throughout like a red line that I do not have the information on militia possessing such kind of a weapon." Khodakovsky said he had told Reuters that he was not an expert and could not comment on the crash. Khodakovsky said he neither agreed with nor denied claims that rebels had shot down the plane. He only said that if Ukrainian authorities knew that the DPR allegedly possessed Buks, they should have banned civilian flights in the Donetsk airspace.[11] Reuters said it stands by its story and produced an audio recording of part of the interview, in which a man who sounds like Khodakovsky confirms key comments made by Khodakovsky about the militia obtaining the Buk from Russia and using it to shoot down MH17.[12]

In November 2014, he repeated his claim that the separatists had a Buk launcher at the time, but stated that the vehicle, under control of fighters from Luhansk, had still been on its way to Donetsk when MH17 crashed. It then retreated in order to avoid being placed under blame.[13]

Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine

In December 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that the only way Russia can win the war against Ukraine would be through the use of nuclear weapons.[14]

2023 counteroffensive

During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, Khodakovsky and the Vostok Brigade were in charge of defending the village of Urozhaine, on the border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. The village was described by The New York Times as a "stronghold" and an important part of the Russian defensive network on the Velyka Novosilka axis.[15] Despite this, Russian media and Khodakovsky himself made it clear that the strategically important village would be solely defended by the Vostok Brigade against elite detachments from the Ukrainian Marine Corps. Fighting for the village began on 6 August 2023, and Khodakovsky announced that the Vostok Brigade would be withdrawing from the village on 15 August, stating that their defensive position had become untenable.[16][17][18] Ukraine announced the liberation of the settlement on 16 August, and has been noted using artillery to shell retreating members of the Vostok Brigade resulting in high casualties among Khodakovsky's troops.[19][20][21][22]

In August 2023 Khodakovsky said that Russia would not be able to win the war militarily in the near term and that Russian forces would have difficulty occupying additional Ukrainian cities. He concluded that Russia would likely have to come to a "truce" and that Russia may enter a phase "of neither peace nor war" with Ukraine. Khodakovsky opined that Russia would be able to exert more influence over Ukraine in such a situation than in the current state of active war.[23]

Sanctions

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Moscow is bankrolling Ukraine rebels: ex-separatist official". Reuters. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Socor, Vladimir. "Russian Secessionists Ready for 'State-Building' In Ukraine's Donetsk City | The Jamestown Foundation". Jamestown. Jamestown.org. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  3. ↑ Министр безопасности ДНР Ходаковский подал в отставку, Деловая газета «Взгляд», July 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Правоохранительные органы Украины задержали в Артемовске командира батальона сепаратистов "Восток" Александра Ходаковского", August 19, 2014 (in Russian)
  5. ↑ "Junior rebel commander detained in east Ukraine" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, TODAYonline, August 19, 2014
  6. ↑ "Замінить Захарченка? Опального екс-ватажка ДНР засікли в РФ". 6 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Бойовика Ходаковського не випустили з Росії на "вибори "ДНР"".
  8. ↑ Exclusive: Ukraine rebel commander acknowledges fighters had BUK missile, Reuters, July 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Rebel leader on downing of MH17". cbc.ca. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 7 June 2023. CBC's Susan Ormiston speaks with Alexander Khodakovsky, who once commanded Ukraine's security service but defected to pro-Russian rebels
  10. ↑ Ukraine rebel leader: 'We did not have Buk missile', BBC, July 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ Donetsk Commander Denies Telling Media Militia Had Buk Missiles During MH17 Crash, RIA Novosti, July 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ Separatist Commander Says Rebels Had Buk Missiles, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, July 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lanting, Bert (4 November 2014). "Wij hadden raket, maar haalden MH17 niet neer" (in Dutch). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "Russian Commander Suggests Nukes as 'Only' Option to Win War", Newsweek, 13 December 2022
  15. ↑ Santora, Marc (12 August 2023). "Ukraine Makes 'Tactically Significant' Progress in Its Counteroffensive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  16. ↑ Bailey, Riley; Barros, George; Wolkov, Nicole; Harward, Christina; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Kagan, Frederick W. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 6, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Evans, Angelica; Harward, Christina; Kagan, Frederick W. (10 August 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 10, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  18. ↑ Wolkov, Nicole; Evans, Angelica; Bailey, Riley; Harward, Christina; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 12, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 12, 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  19. ↑ Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Hird, Karolina; Harward, Christina; Evans, Angelica; Clark, Mason. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 15, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Polityuk, Pavel; Kelly, Lidia; Balmforth, Tom (16 August 2023). "Ukraine retakes southeast village of Urozhaine from Russian forces". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  21. ↑ Said-Moorhouse, Lauren; Stambaugh, Alex; Nechyporenko, Kostan (16 August 2023). "Ukraine reclaims village in Donetsk region from Russian troops amid grueling counteroffensive". CNN. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  22. ↑ Axe, David. "Ukrainian Cluster Shells Massacred Russian Troops Fleeing Urozhaine". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  23. ↑ Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Evans, Angelica; Harward, Christina; Kagan, Frederick W. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 17, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  24. ↑ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2023.


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