Das ist Arsen Pawlow, ein russischer Staatsbürger, der 2014 im Donbass gegen die Ukraine gekämpft hat. Er schießt chaotisch in einer friedlichen Stadt, ohne sich vor der Kamera zu verstecken, und gefährdet dabei die Zivilbevölkerung. Auf die Frage, ob sich jemand in der Richtung befindet, in die er schießt, antwortet er ehrlich: „Ist mir egal.“

What an absolute twat. I sure hope this guy grows sunflowers by now.

Ukrainian officials have stated that Arsen Pavlov was assassinated by Russia’s special forces as part of a drive to purge early separatist leaders that took part in the original insurgency of 2014, who may be charismatic but are often unpredictable. Moreover, most of the separatist leaders assassinated headed their own units, which would often engage in infighting over territory or control of the black market, suspecting that the assassinations are part of a drive to form a more uniform chain of command. Another theory behind the assassination has been that there is a drive to get rid of the first generation of rebels who were implicated in war crimes, therefore giving the separatist forces a more acceptable public face. Indeed, Amnesty International has called for an investigation into Arsen Pavlov executing 15 unarmed Ukrainian prisoners.

It’s unclear when this video was taken, but the asshole and his bodyguards were killed in Donetsk in October 2016 by an IED explosion in his apartment’s elevator. It is not clear who was responsible for the bomb, but several Donbas separatist leaders who rose to prominence in the period after 2014 died around the same time.

It is possible that Ukrainian agents planted the bomb that killed Pavlov, but Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility. Instead, both Ukrainian and other analysts have said that the series of assassinations were a purge by Russia of charismatic insurgency leaders who were unpredictable, fought other separatist groups in turf wars and over control of segments of the black market, and weren’t willing to play a subservient role in the long-term strategies developed by the FSB.

Arsen Pavlov did reprehensible things – including the murder of several Ukrainian POWs – and was a generally despicable person who conformed to the worst stereotype of an amoral, barbaric Russian. So there is some small satisfaction in knowing that his final weeks were uncomfortable ones for him. He repeatedly expressed concerns about being in conflicts with Russian officers, believed he had become expendable, and became paranoid about his security, believing that there were those in his inner circle who wanted him dead.