A figure from Yanukovych's circle is suspected of recruiting prisoners to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Criminal authority Armen Sargsyan has been suspected of recruiting prisoners to fight in the war against Ukraine. He is part of the close circle of the fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych.
This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the Security Service of Ukraine on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian law enforcement, Armen Sargsyan is hiding in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region and is collaborating with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
"The suspect (known as Armen Horlivskyi) is part of the close circle of fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych and has been on the international wanted list since May 2014 for organizing murders in downtown Kyiv," the SBU clarified.
It is known that after the start of the full-scale war, Sargsyan was tasked with creating a new unit for the war against Ukraine. The combat group he led was named "Separate Special Purpose Battalion 'ArBAT'." It consisted of recidivists convicted of murder, robbery, and other crimes.
"For recruiting prisoners, the Russian special service appointed Sargsyan as the so-called 'watchman' over prisons in the temporarily occupied part of Donbas," the SBU writes.
The occupiers from "ArBAT" initially fought in the Toretsk direction, and later they were redeployed to the Kursk region for assaults on Ukrainian defenders' positions.
Sargsyan may also use controlled companies to acquire thermal imaging devices, fuel, and construction materials for his soldiers.
The criminal has been notified of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Measures are being taken to locate and punish Sargsyan.
Creation of a new PMC in the Russian Federation
Recall that back in November 2022, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Armen Sargsyan was tasked with creating a new PMC.
This was done in Moscow to curb the influence of the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was still alive at that time.