Rostov-on-Don, Oct 16 – DAN. Members of a Ukrainian squad behind the murder of the DPR Hero Arsen Pavlov (call-sign Motorola) have been detained, the DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko said during his visit to Rostov-on-Don in Russia.

"The Ministry of Interior is to make an announcement soon on the investigation of Pavlov's death. All those involved in the murder have been detained, with the exception for one person currently at large. The head of the Interior is to make a statement," Zakharchenko said.

In April, the DPR Ministry of State Security (MGB) identified the mastermind of the murders of DPR Heroes Arsen Pavlov (call-sign Motorola) and Mikhail Tolstykh (call-sign Givi), attributing the crimes to the head of counter intelligence department of Security service of Ukraine Aleksey Petrov.

Mikhail Tolstykh was killed in an explosion of a round fired with an infantry man-portable flame-thrower Shmel on 8 February, 2017. He was born in Ilovaisk in 1980 and joined DPR militia from the very beginning of Donbass war, participating in the battles for Slavyansk, Ilovaisk and Donetsk airport.

Arsen Pavlov was killed on October 16, 2016 in the blast of an explosive device planted in the hallway of the block of flats in central Donetsk where he lived. He was born in Komi, northern Russia, in 1983. He lived in Rostov-on-Don. Calling himself ‘Motorola’, he became the leader of the Sparta Battalion, fighting in the war in Donbass against Kiev junta. *ot *ot